A third woman has alleged that Australian Rules great Barry Cable sexually abused her as a child but she didn’t report it because she felt scared and intimidated.

February 13, 2023

A third woman has accused legendary Australian Rules footballer Barry Cable of sexually abusing her when she was a child, but says she did not report it because “all of Australia loved him”.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claims the now 79-year-old tried to have sex with her in a spa in the 1980s.

“He got me to sit on his knee and I do remember feeling the erection on my backside,” she told the District Court in Perth on Monday.

“He was holding onto my breasts and holding me onto his knee that way.”

The woman, who was about 11 at the time, said Cable then pulled her bather bottoms to the side and attempted to penetrate her.

“I got off his lap because it was really uncomfortable,” she said.

“I remember being scared and embarrassed.”

The woman said the alleged assault happened when other children were in the spa.

She also said she did not report the incident to her parents or police because of Cable’s stardom.

“He was so famous my father had stars in his eyes about him. He said all of Australia loved him,” she said.

The claims were made amid a civil trial brought by another woman over abuse that she allegedly suffered as a child.

She told the court the triple Sandover Medal winner started sexually abusing her when she was about 12 or 13 in the late 1960s.

It allegedly continued through her teens, and escalated from sexualised conversations and unwanted touching to “degrading” sexual violence and forceful intercourse.

The woman’s mother told the court on Monday that it was a “terrible shock” when she and her husband learned about the alleged assaults.

“We were devastated because we did not have an inkling about what he had been up to,” she said in pre-recorded video testimony played to the court.

“We all ended up in tears.”

Cable denies the claims and is not facing criminal charges.

The woman’s mother described Cable as manipulative and said he “always made sure he could get (my daughter) on his own”.

“He would take her off to shopping and make some excuse to his wife.”

She also detailed an incident when Cable walked into her kitchen naked, while she was cooking with her daughter.

“I was astonished and said ‘whatever do you think you’re doing Barry’ and he took off,” she said.

The court heard the former North Melbourne player apologised for allegedly abusing the woman who launched the civil case against him.

“He came to the door with his hand extended as if to shake hands and I declined,” her mother said.

Cable allegedly acknowledged the incidents and asked what he could do to help.

“A little bit late for that Barry. You hurt this family enough,” she said recounting her conversation with the father of two.

“When I see you on the TV I throw up. We thought you were our friend.”

The court has heard the famous rover allegedly sexually assaulted the woman multiple times, including at the Perth Football Club in 1971, where he was both captain and coach.

He also allegedly “relentlessly” assaulted her in his garden shed, his car and at a public swimming pool, and in his family home while his wife and children slept.

The woman claims the abuse also continued when she became an adult and got married, but Cable claims the pair had a consensual relationship.

The woman denies this and gave confronting evidence about the alleged emotional and physical abuse.

She also detailed the trauma and tragic consequences she has suffered, including lifelong mental and physical health issues that have impacted her marriage, relationships, education and ability to work.

The second woman to accuse Cable of abuse told the court he inappropriately touched her in the 1980s and 90s when she was aged between eight and 14.

The case continues on Tuesday afternoon for legal argument about the admissibility of some of the alleged victims’ evidence.