It cannot be said why the Premier League boss is accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl

A Premier League boss has been granted anonymity by the Supreme Court in a case against him over alleged sexual abuse of a teenage girl.

The well-known English top-flight personality is being sued by a woman for damages over serious crimes allegedly committed in the 1990s when she was 15.

He is accused of sexual abuse and “trespass (assault and battery) and intentional bodily harm,” causing psychological harm to the alleged victim, as first reported by The athlete.

The same Premier League manager was also being investigated by police for other, non-recent alleged sexual offenses, including allegations of rape and sexual abuse of teenage girls, including at least another 15-year-old.

That investigation was closed earlier this year with no further action taken, but the case remained on file.

I explains why the boss was granted anonymity, what we know about the case so far, and what happens if you name the boss.

Why the Premier League boss accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl was granted anonymity

This is a civil case, meaning it is brought by a private plaintiff rather than the government and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and is a question of liability rather than guilt.

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The most common outcome of a civil case is the award of compensation – criminal convictions and prison sentences are not possible penalties.

And unlike in criminal cases, where UK data protection laws require that people who are arrested but not formally charged cannot be named, in civil proceedings anonymity is not automatically guaranteed.

But in this case, the executive branch’s lawyers successfully argued that an anonymity order should be used.

A Supreme Court judge ruled that “the secrecy of the defendant’s identity is necessary to ensure the proper administration of justice and to protect the defendant’s interests and that there is no sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure.”

This was the result of the decisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on family and private life and freedom of expression.

As a result, the executive is referred to by random letters in court documents and throughout the proceedings.

The victim’s anonymity is also automatically protected under the Sexual Offenses (Amendment) Act 1992 and remains for life unless the victim revokes it.

What we know so far about the case against the Premier League boss

The Premier League manager is being sued for serious damages over alleged sexual abuse in the 1990s.

At the time, the alleged victim was 15 years old, which is crucial to why this is a civil rather than a criminal case.

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At the time, the Sexual Offenses Act of 1956 was still in force, which gave girls between the ages of 13 and 15 only one year to make a formal complaint about sexual offenses.

This legislation was replaced by the Sexual Offenses Act 2003 in 2004, but continued to apply to alleged assaults in the previous 48 years.

This meant that when the alleged victim contacted police to report the alleged crimes in late 2021, she was told she had waited too long and the criminal case was dropped.

She claims the rape took place at the Premier League boss’s home.

At least two other women filed criminal complaints of sexual offenses against the same executive, but the resulting investigations were closed and shelved.

The boss is still in office at his club and continues to take an active role, which potentially brings him into contact with women and minors.

What happens if you name someone who is granted legal anonymity?

There is already speculation on social media about the Premier League boss’s identity, but mentioning his name or the victim could have serious consequences.

Violations of these anonymity requirements can be charged as both criminal offenses and contempt of court – something that carries the risk of unfairly influencing a judicial process.

But generally, these cases are charged as felonies to avoid the initiation of criminal proceedings, meaning anyone who reports the name faces either significant fines or prison time.