Football icon Barry Cable, aged 82, faces an anxious wait as a Perth court deliberates on charges of historical child sexual abuse from the late 1960s.
Defense Highlights Weaknesses in Prosecution Case
During closing submissions on March 13, Cable’s lawyer, Tom Percy, described the prosecution’s case as “unsalvageable.” He argued that no witnesses or forensic evidence supports the complainant’s allegations of abuse occurring at the Cables’ family home, where the girl, then about eight or nine, stayed for around a month.
Percy pointed out flaws in the woman’s account of the location, stating it “seriously casts doubt on whether the events ever happened.” He claimed official documents from the early 1970s, which prosecutors interpreted as evidence of the stay, actually show mismatched dates, leaving no opportunity for the alleged abuse.
“The only reasonable inference is she never went [to the Cables],” Percy told the WA District Court. He dismissed testimony from three other women alleging abuse by Cable as limited, noting differences in circumstances and victim ages.
Percy praised Helen Cable’s testimony as a “credible, reliable, and remarkable” account that provides crucial clarity. “The telling blow in this case was Helen Cable’s evidence,” he said. “The prosecution case simply can’t survive.”
Prosecution Counters with Trauma Argument
Prosecutor Kim Jennings urged Judge Michael Bowden to account for the complainant’s memory lapses after 60 years. “She is remembering back 60 years and remembering as a small child,” Jennings said. “This is a child who had a pretty traumatic start to life. What stands out is the sexual abuse, not the details of where it happened.”
Jennings accused Helen Cable of minimizing family ties to the complainant to shield her husband and described Cable’s alleged actions as brazen. She emphasized the woman’s recall of intimate abuse details and explained the lack of contemporary complaint: Cable warned her she wouldn’t be believed due to his fame.
“Barry Cable thought he was invincible,” Jennings stated. “He had a very successful football career, and he was quite famous in the community.”
Charges and Background
Cable faces five counts of indecent dealing with a girl under 13 and two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 13, spanning December 31, 1966, to December 31, 1969. He denies all charges.
A previous civil trial determined Cable abused another girl over five years starting in 1968, when she was 12, citing compelling evidence of violations against other children. Cable rejected those findings and lost his Australian Football Hall of Fame honors after a distinguished career with Perth, East Perth, and North Melbourne.
Judge Bowden has reserved his verdict until no later than April 17.
