26 “I DIDN’T THINK ANYBODY WOULD BELIEVE ME” How two nights alone with paedophile coach Barry Bennell would impact 12-yearold David Lean’s life forever, leading him to battle for conviction of his abuser.
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t’s been more than 40 years since David Lean’s childhood was violated by convicted paedophile Barry Bennell. And while time has gone some way towards healing the wounds inflicted, it’s done nothing to dull David’s memory of that weekend in 1980, when he was just 12-years-old.
holiday park - where he was working as a football coach - Bennell began an 11-month programme of grooming, laying the groundwork for a terrifying two-night ordeal that would change David’s life forever. “My earliest memories are of playing football,” says David, who is now 53.
“I used to dream about singing the After first crossing paths with the young National Anthem on the pitch at Wembley, so you can imagine my boy at a coaching camp at Butlins
