Two more witness are set to testify that Australian rules football legend Barry Cable sexually abused them when a civil trial resumes in Perth.

February 15, 2023

Two more witnesses are expected to accuse legendary Australian rules footballer Barry Cable of sexual abuse when a civil trial resumes.

Three women, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have already told the Perth trial the now 79-year-old sexually abused them when they were children.

The two new witnesses, both women, were also allegedly abused by the triple Sandover Medal winner when they were children.

The famous rover, who is being sued for damages by the first woman to testify against him, denies the claims and is not facing criminal charges.

“These lay witnesses will give evidence in relation to their direct experience of having been sexually assaulted by the defendant,” lawyer Tim Hammond told the Western Australia District Court.

The woman who launched the legal case told the court the former North Melbourne player and coach started sexually abusing her when she was about 12 or 13 in the late 1960s.

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

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

The third woman who has given evidence against Cable alleged he tried to have sex with her in a spa when she was about 11 in the 1980s.

“He got me to sit on his knee and I do remember feeling the erection on my backside,” she said via a video-link.

Cable, who has not attended the hearings, then allegedly pulled her bather bottoms to the side.

The woman 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 two new witnesses are scheduled to give evidence on Wednesday.