When a soccer dream turned into nightmare
Victim of coach’s sex abuse speaks out about his ordeal
FOR a budding young footballer, being picked up by a Manchester City scout is a dream come true.
But the experience turned into a nightmare for one young man when the so-called scout lured him into an horrific cycle of abuse which lasted for three years.
Serial sex predator William Toner gained the trust of the teenager and his parents while posing as a City scout during the 1990s. He offered the young football hopeful ‘one on one training’ which quickly led to indecent assault.
Toner, who has now been jailed for his disgusting crimes, abused the youngster in his own bedroom during post-training ‘rub down’ sessions while his parents were downstairs.
The victim has now bravely spoken out in the hope of encouraging other victims of abuse to come forward.
Speaking more than two decades after his horrendous experience, he says Toner blurred the lines between football training and abuse which became ‘one and the same.’
“It was always done in a way that could be explained, especially to yourself,” he says.
“If you were ever at a point where something didn’t feel right, you ended up explaining it to yourself in different ways. Like ‘no it didn’t happen like that.’
“And when things progressed and it crossed that point where you couldn’t explain it to yourself anymore, that’s when everything made sense in your mind. And the shame kicks in and the guilt kicks in.”
Toner was last week jailed for three years and two months after pleading guilty to four counts of indecent assault.
His sentencing follows a major police investigation into historic sexual abuse in sport as part of a nationwide enquiry involving the NSPCC, the Football Association and local councils.
GMP’s Operation Corduroy came about after the case of ex-Manchester City scout Barry Bennell, who is serving 30 years for abusing young boys.
Toner’s victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, says watching coverage of Bennell’s victims speaking out gave him the confidence to come forward himself.
He said: “I was getting to the point where I couldn’t keep it buried anymore. And the other lads that came forward gave me the courage to do it.
“I thought they were incredibly brave to do it. You start to realise you’re not alone.
“It’s like you’ve taken the lid off to a point and can’t put it back on. The stuff you’re trying to keep buried you’re realising you can’t keep buried.”
The victim says there was no reason not to trust Toner and he was excited to be given the opportunity.
“I was at a training session with a junior team and we were told we were going to have a scout come down,” he said.
“He introduced himself and he took me and some others. I remember doing drills and some work off to the side.
“Then it was discussed with him and my father and I ended up being involved in the conversation which was ‘you’ve got potential’ basically, and ‘do you want to go somewhere?’ So we ended up having one-on-one sessions.
“The sessions, or the coaching, is the one thing I can’t take away from him. I know it was engineered in a way to harm me but the coaching you got was incredibly professional and it was a way of getting the weight off, building muscle and becoming a good footballer.”
As the coaching sessions continued Toner, then in his 50s, became ‘like family’ to the boy and his parents and the defendant began to take the youngster for weekly training sessions and afterwards would suggest a ‘rub down’ for his muscles.
During the rub downs, Toner would indecently assault his victim, with the abuse continuing for three years until the youngster refused further massages.
Unable to tell his parents, the victim turned his back on football and began drinking and taking drugs.
Now in his 30s, he described the torment of dealing with his horrific experiences alone.
He said: “I found I always got on with women and girls. It was men I had trouble with. Large groups, not knowing what they’re thinking, constantly being angry, wanting to fight.
“I’m lucky that I have been with my wife for a long time and I’d even hidden what happened from her. You manage to close yourself off to a point so you can keep functioning, if that makes sense. But the more that you bury, the more you take away from yourself.”
He only spoke about the abuse for the first time when sexual abuse in football hit the headlines and he called Manchester City, which referred him to the NSPCC, Greater Manchester Police and Survivors Manchester - which helps victims of male rape and sexual abuse.
“It felt good to step forward,” he said.
“It was more that once you start getting the support you need you realise you’re not alone.”
“I would say to other victims, you are not alone. The feelings that you have, the thought processes you have are normal. You’re not abnormal.
“Being able to take that step forward and say ‘this happened to me’ is hard. But the charities like Survivors who deal with male abuse are amazing. Even if you can’t take the legal route and bring that person to justice you can still get the help that you need from people like Survivors and the NSPCC. It’s just being able to take that step forward.”
Father-of-three Toner, 74, was convicted of indecent assault on a teenager in 1992 and was on probation for that offence when he moved back north and began coaching for local youth football teams.
Toner, of Market Street, Whitworth, also had a previous conviction for gross indecency involving young boys in 1983 and he was later jailed for 12 months in 2001 for abusing a 15-year-old boy.
Manchester City say they have no record of Toner ever having been employed or paid as a scout.
His victim says: “I personally wasn’t bothered how long my abuser got. It was more that the police took you seriously. You were sat down, you were treated with dignity.
“The whole legal process, for me, was really good.”
He added: “Manchester City have been incredibly supportive. But in terms of people knowing, from what I understand there was no real database for them to look at.
“And with me what made it all worse was that he shouldn’t have been anywhere near kids in the first place.” »●If you are a victim of sexual abuse or rape - or know someone who is - you can call police on 101. Always dial 999 where there is a threat to life or a crime in progress. Alternatively,