Ex-football coach Barry Bennell charged with child sex offences

London [UK], Nov. 30 (ANI): The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has informed that former football coach Barry Bennell has been charged with eight offences of sexual assault against a boy under the age of 14. The prosecutors said it had received a file of evidence from Cheshire Police relating to allegations of historical abuse. The detectives from Cheshire Police have been investigating Bennell for the offences alleged to have been committed between 1981 and 1985. The 62-year-old is due to appear at South Cheshire Magistrates court on December 14. "On 27 September 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service received a file of evidence from Cheshire Police relating to allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse involving a former football coach, Barry Bennell," the Guardian quoted a CPS spokesperson as saying in a statement. "Following a review of the evidence, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, Bennell, 62, has today been charged with eight offences of sexual assault against a boy under the age of 14," the statement read. The eight offences which Bennell has been charged with include five counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 14, two counts of inciting a boy under 14 to commit an act of gross indecency and assault with intent to commit buggery. "The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Bennell will now begin and that he has a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings," the statement said. Bennell, who coached leading junior teams in Manchester, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 1998 after admitting 23 specimen charges of sexual offences against six boys aged nine to 15, with another 22 offences left on file. (ANI)