The 82-year-old is fighting a slew of historical child sexual abuse accusations, allegedly involving a girl aged about eight, in a criminal trial in Perth. After weeks of testimony, the case now awaits verdict in the WA District Court.
Prosecutor Kim Jennings said Cable had an illustrious football career, and was very well known and very well liked during the period. "But behind that spotlight there was a darker side," she told the judge-only trial in the WA District Court during her opening remarks. According to the prosecution, the former North Melbourne player was allegedly attracted to young girls and he used his familial relationships and close connections to access them.
Former Australian Rules star Barry Cable allegedly abused an eight-year-old girl at his family home when his wife was sleeping. The abuse allegedly involved physical contact, vaseline and penetrative sex on multiple occasions when Cable's wife was asleep. The woman reported the alleged abuse to police in 2023 when she spotted Cable on television.
The defence case presents a markedly different narrative. Cable's lawyer claimed the allegations "don't hold together at any level", and that the alleged victim was dishonest and had made abuse complaints against numerous other people, including a priest and one of Cable's brothers. The defence has also questioned the veracity of specific details in the woman's account, including details about where the Cables lived at the time.
This criminal trial follows a significant civil judgment. The civil trial in the same court found Cable abused a girl over five years from 1968 when she was aged 12. The victim was awarded $818,700 in damages. The civil trial judge said there was compelling evidence the former footballer had violated other children. However, he has not paid a cent, after declaring bankruptcy days before the trial began.
The criminal trial also heard from additional complainants. A different woman told the court on Wednesday that Cable touched her breasts and pulled his erect penis from his bathers in a spa in Melbourne in the early 1980s when she was about 10 years old.
Cable's sporting legacy has already been dismantled. He was later stripped of his Australian Football Hall of Fame honours following an illustrious playing career in the 1960s and '70s for Perth and East Perth in the WAFL and North Melbourne in the VFL, going on to coach in both leagues. He has also been dumped from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and the West Australian Football Commission revoked the former champion's Hall of Fame membership, including his Legend status. North Melbourne, a club Cable also coached, erased him from their Hall of Fame books. The WA Institute of Sport has also removed Cable's WA Hall of Champions Honours.
With closing arguments completed, a date is yet to be set for Judge Staude's ruling on the propensity evidence application. The judge's decision on whether to allow evidence from the two spa incidents could significantly shape the verdict on the primary charges.