Man Utd settle court case with ‘child sex abuse victim’ after multiple claims made against ex-employee

SportFootball MAN Utd has settled a court case with an alleged child sex abuse victim after claims were made against an ex-employee. Former caretaker, kitman and groundsman Billy Watts, who died in 2009, was named in the Sheldon report – the official probe into football’s sex abuse scandal. One of his alleged victims launched a civil case in November last year for damages claiming he was sexually assaulted by Watts when he was 14. He accused the club of failing to protect him from the abuse while he was under their care and supervision. Sign up for the Man United newsletter Thank you! The alleged the abuse took place in 1986 – shortly after Sir Alex Ferguson‘s appointment as manager – while Watts worked at Utd’s old training ground, the Cliff. It has now emerged the case was settled out-of-court in March without the club admitting any liability, The Athletic reports. An undisclosed payout was made – with other teams typically shelling out low, five-figure sums in similar cases. Watts was “redeployed” from the youth players at the Cliff to Old Trafford in 1989 following an internal disciplinary hearing. He left the club a few months later – taking up a job as a cleaner at a police station. Although no details of the internal investigation were released, Utd reported the former caretaker to the FA‘s 2021 abuse probe that was launched to deal with a “tidal wave” of allegations. Most read in Sport The landmark 700-page report found the FA was culpable of an “institutional failure” and that enough was not done to keep children safe. Clive Sheldon KC, who led the inquiry, said of Watts: “The club (United) was made aware in 2016 of allegations that in the 1980s the caretaker had made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, physically pulled an individual into an office against his will, followed an individual into a sauna at the training ground and wrestled with him. “There was also an allegation that the caretaker had tried to touch another individual inappropriately in the showers; that the caretaker was referred to by youth team players as a ‘pervert’. “There was a further allegation that the caretaker had tried to touch another boy and, when confronted, had said that ‘I’m only messing, shut up.’ The club referred the matter to the FA in 2016.” A Utd spokesperson said: “As we said at the time, we cooperated fully with the Sheldon review in an effort to make sure we were as comprehensive on this important matter as we could be. “While it would not be appropriate to comment on individuals, we take any allegations of this nature extremely seriously and have met and listened to anyone who has come forward with dignity and respect.”