Judge finds AFL legend Barry Cable sexually abused girl for five years when she was a teenager

Legendary Australian Rules footballer Barry Cable repeatedly sexually assaulted a Perth girl while at the peak of his playing career, a judge has ruled.

Cable, 79, was sued in Western Australia District Court by a woman who claimed he had abused her over a five-year period, beginning in 1968 when she was 12 or 13 years old.

After overseeing a civil trial earlier this year, Judge Mark Herron found Friday that the abuse had occurred and awarded the woman $818,700 in damages.

But his victim is unlikely to receive substantial financial compensation after Cable was declared bankrupt prior to trial.

Cable has vehemently denied abusing the woman and has not been charged with any criminal offence.

The former Kangaroo – regarded as one of the greatest robbers in the history of the sport after a long career in the WAFL and VFL – denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged

The victim who initiated the lawsuit said Cable abused her throughout her teenage years, ranging from sexualized conversations and unwanted touching to “degrading” sexual assault and violent intercourse.

She said Cable sexually assaulted her in his childhood home while his wife and children slept in bed, in his gazebo, in his car and at a public swimming pool.

Cable warned the woman that no one would believe her if she told anyone about the abuse and she feared he would hurt her if she didn’t do what he said, the court heard.

The abuse triggered suicidal thoughts and caused her to binge eat and use laxatives, leading to a lifelong medical condition.

Cable did not actively defend the proceedings, relying instead on written material already provided.

His victim told the court that she vividly remembered the abuse, supported by diary entries from the time.

Cable told the girl he “trained” her to be a hit with men and that she would eventually thank him for the assaults, the court heard.

“My body was the crime scene and I’ll never forget that,” she told the court, sobbing.

The victim alleges Cable, 79, sexually assaulted her in his family home while his wife and children slept in bed, in his gazebo, his car and in a public swimming pool

The trial also heard evidence from four other women who alleged that Cable sexually assaulted them when they were children.

Cable had made several unsuccessful attempts in recent years to permanently end the proceedings.

The most recent challenge was rejected by the WA Court of Appeal last year.

Cable, one of football’s most decorated players, was elevated to a legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

He had an illustrious playing career for Perth and East Perth in the WAFL and North Melbourne in the VFL, going on to become a coach in both leagues.

In 2005, he was named player and coach on the Indigenous Team of the Century by the AFL.

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