Barry Cable: Disgraced footballer’s child sex offence trial hears claims he regularly molested girls in spa

Disgraced football star Barry Cable has been accused of sexually abusing two primary school girls in suburban backyard spas, years after alleged offences he’s currently standing trial for. The 82-year-old former Australian Rules footballer is charged with five counts of indecently assaulting and two counts of attempting to rape a girl in the late 1960s. His accuser was aged eight or nine at the time and says it occurred at Mr Cable’s marital home, when he was in his early 20s and at the peak of his football career. The spa allegations came from two women who gave “tendency” evidence in a bid to support those alleged offences nearly 60 years ago. The women told Mr Cable’s District Court of WA trial on Wednesday that he molested them in Melbourne when they were children in the early 1980s. One of them lived next door to the famous sportsman and his young family, and said Mr Cable would grope her each time she visited their spa. She said she was aged nine or 10 at the time. He would pull her onto his lap, touch her inappropriately and expose himself “a lot”, including sunbaking naked on his deck, she said. The woman said he even attempted to rape her underwater “on more than six occasions”. “I couldn’t believe it was happening,” she said. “Every time we were in the spa, it would happen. “He was very, like, cheeky. ‘Oh come on girls, give us a cuddle’ and laugh. “We would say ‘Barry, stop’ and he would just laugh.” She said Mr Cable also fondled her friend once and that they had discussed it between themselves. Both women said they didn’t tell police about the allegations until 2023 after seeing news reports of a civil case involving Mr Cable and historical child sexual abuse. “It was useless. No-one would have believed us,” the former neighbour said, adding that their families were very close friends. “It was so embarrassing. We were mortified as little kids.” The other woman alleged that Mr Cable pulled his bathers aside to expose himself before pressing his genitals against her. She claimed she was aged around 12 and that it had occurred in her friend’s spa next door. “It was just really uncomfortable,” the woman told the judge-alone trial. She said she had a “vague recollection” of telling her friend about it at the time. “I wanted to stay upstairs in her bedroom because I felt really embarrassed,” she added. The woman said her father was “really excited” to see Mr Cable “because he was a famous footballer”. Both women firmly denied they complained decades later for their own financial gain. The trial continues, with Mr Cable’s wife Helen Cable set to give evidence in his defence. Sexual Assault Resource Centre 1800 199 888 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800