A Channel 4 documentary on Jesse Lingard’s career was said to have been the ‘catalyst’ for the complainant reporting the alleged abuse
Ken Lingard outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Former England international footballer Jesse Lingard’s grandad has gone on trial accused of historic child sexual offences. Ken Lingard, from Warrington, is alleged to have abused a girl over the course of 15 years when she was aged as young as five.
The complainant reported this behaviour to the police after watching a Channel 4 documentary about the ex-Manchester United star’s career, in which “praise was heaped” on the now 86-year-old defendant. While this was said to have been the “catalyst” for her reporting the historic abuse, stating that the midfielder “had no right doing the documentary when he knew his grandad had molested her for years”, the pensioner denies the claims and alleges that she is “doing this for attention”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Friday, that Ken Lingard, of Northway in the Cheshire town, regularly sexually abused his alleged victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, by touching her to the breasts, vagina and bottom. Benjamin Aina KC told a jury of seven men and five women, as well as two reserve jurors, in the prosecution’s opening: “Jesse Lingard’s name will feature in this trial. I am going to ask you, please, from the outset, to focus on the evidence and not to be distracted by any celebrity background.
“What matters in this trial is your assessment of the truthfulness of the witnesses that will appear in front of you or be read to you, and your assessment of the accuracy of the witnesses that will appear in front of you. If you focus on those two factors, those two principles, truthfulness and accuracy, you will come to the correct decision in this case, whatever that decision is.
“How did the allegations come to light? We have to go back to the 17th of November 2022. On that date, [complainant’s name] watched a documentary. The documentary was aired on Channel 4. The title of the documentary was Untold: The Jesse Lingard Story.
“That was the first time that the documentary was aired on national television. In the documentary, Jesse Lingard outlined the positive influence that Kenneth Lingard had on his life and on his football career. [Complainant’s name], having seen the praise heaped on Kenneth Lingard by Jesse Lingard, contacted the police, and she made her complaints.”
Ken Lingard outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The jury were played an eight-minute segment of this programme, which Mr Aina described as the “catalyst for [complainant’s name] coming forward”, during which Jesse Lingard described how he “grew up between his mum and grandad’s houses” due to his mother being unwell at the time. Footage of the two hugging on his grandfather’s front doorstep was shown as he added in a voiceover: “My grandad looked after me from very young. He’s always protected me, no matter what.”
The 32-year-old, who now plays for FC Seoul in South Korea and previously represented clubs including West Ham United and Nottingham Forest, detailed how his “very passionate, very competitive” grandad would play football with him as a youngster and help with his training, as well as taking him to his first Manchester United match. He told him in one clip: “If it wasn’t for you pushing me, I don’t think I’d be here.”
Ken Lingard, who appeared in the dock sporting grey hair and glasses and wearing a black jacket over a white t-shirt, meanwhile said to his grandson after being asked “did you ever think I’d get this far?”: “I did. I always had that in my mind. There was no doubt in my mind whatsoever that he’d make it.”
But Mr Aina, who was assisted by junior counsel Damian Nolan, went on to tell jurors that Lingard had sexually abused the complainant decades previously while attempting to “muffle her screams” and telling her to “be quiet” and “shut up”. She was subsequently said to have confronted the former gymnastics coach over the allegations in the presence of his late wife, at which stage he “didn’t deny the allegations”, while her husband was also said to have challenged him on another occasion, when he did deny the accusations.
Ken Lingard outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The woman would go on to detail how she did not contact the police for many years as she “felt ashamed”, thought “nobody would believe her” and was “frightened of saying anything to anyone”. However, following the airing of the documentary, she messaged a friend to say: “T**t. F***ing tell him I’ve spoken to CID.
“I’ve done what he says and I’m speaking up. He had no right doing that documentary when he knew his grandad molested me for years. Why has he done it? Because he needed the money, or he needed to look like a caring person? Probably both. I feel suicidal on a daily basis. Shame on you Jesse Lingard. F***ing cheeky t**t. F***ing shame on you Jesse Lingard.”
When subsequently interviewed by detectives in January 2023, Lingard would claim that “it was all nonsense” and said that “this was the first time he knew of the allegations”. He went on to add that the woman was “doing this for attention” and had called his grandson “asking Jesse if he was proud of his grandfather after what he had done to her”.
Lingard, who is represented by Tom Price KC and Kitty Colley, denies a total of 17 counts of indecent assault. The trial, before Judge Katherine Pierpoint, continues, and is expected to last several weeks.