Can I just say that, as this and other articles covering the trial, cannot and should not decide on guilt or innocence of those involved, accused or not accused, we are simply seeing the tip of the False Allegations Industry here. The vast majority of other claims are full of similar fantasies, exaggerations, media and police "assistance" and genuine confusion. And, possibly, truth.

But it's interesting to see, for example, how some journalists work. Read the Exaro information closely.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7058317...ordinary-claims.html

It's a bit hard to see how virtually all sex crimes are inventions as you suggest. After all you have prolific offenders like Bennell who have confessed. I do think there's something else going on as well though. That is behaviour years ago that was seen as a bit strange or touchy-feely is now being interpreted as sexual abuse of some kind. Some of the recent football coach scandals seem to come into this category. Slightly weird PE teachers/sports coaches were a fact of life in 1980s boys schools. I don't know if they were all secretly having fantasies about us or it was just something about the job. Some of the stuff coaches are being accused of-things like massages are what coaches are meant to do aren't they? Also it was common for men and boys to all shower naked together after the swimming pool etc. I just wonder if some of these are cases of the more innocent norms of an earlier age being judged by a more anxious present.

Not "virtually all" Anon - but the vast majority - and not inventions but, frequently, exaggerations. As your later comment; many fathers bathed their young children in the same bath years ago (not now - not in a million years in the current climate; I bet most fathers and mothers are terrified even to kiss their babies, and rightly so, as in fifteen years that will be revised as rape).

Point two - NEVER trust "confessions" and pleas of Guilty - the majority are persuaded by defence lawyers who say they can get lenient sentences from judges if crimes are admitted.

Stupidity from start to finish!

....And interesting to note two of the biggest fools concerning Brexit...May and Watson got involved....

...False allegations...without the need for proof,and without fear of punishment we really have started a quite profitable industry....and yes I do agree....a grain of truth does not prove we have made a pearl..

JK I notice the case of Stuart Hall been a case in point re both confession, exaggeration/ false and some truth. He confessed first round then stood up and had a trial second time and thanked the jury if I remember correctly after been found not guilty of some charges (details do not known off hand).

My impression that he was appalled at the system and would not cooperate with the later review. So it was one sided.

But it is a case in point that confession certainly does not mean guilt or innocent just a maybe some or all or even none.

Much against Bennell certainly seems questionable in that he is an easy target for false allegations.

None of this would be a problem if the legal system followed the law and tried people on credible and reliable evidence to the beyond reasonable doubt standard by an objective, reasonable and unbiased jury rather than the current emotional approach.

I don't think you can really separate false convictions of alleged sex offenders from other false convictions. Anyone who has been through the system for other types of crime can tell you that justice is a bit of a joke in general. The state is always a crude instrument for doing anything whether it is assessing guilt, child protection, divorce settlements etc. What makes things worse are zero-tolerance schemes that seem to be utopian attempts to hugely reduce crime. Up to a point deterrence works in a blunt and brutal sort of way but after that you find you are locking up huge numbers of people for ridiculous lengths of time like they do in America but you still have quite a lot of crime. Punishment cannot eliminate all greed, all selfishness, all drunkeness or drug addiction. Unless people are brave enough to make this case the state will just keep getting more and more authoritarian.