Former Football Coach and Teacher Jailed for Sexually Abusing Boys

John Staveley, 55, has been sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison for sexually abusing two young boys. The abuse, which began in the late 1990s, took place while Staveley was working as a football coach and a primary school teacher.

Staveley met one of his victims while coaching, while the other was abused on a school trip. He was only arrested in 2020 after the first victim reported the abuse to the NSPCC.

Detectives gathered witness statements and social media messages to build a case against Staveley, who was found guilty of nine counts of gross indecency with a boy under 14, two of indecent assault on a boy under 16, and one count of causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Staveley, of Hale Hill Lane, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court and placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Det Con Mike Tilley of South Yorkshire Police said: "Staveley abused his position as a mentor and guide to young children in sports and educational settings. He should have been someone his victims were able to trust but instead he exploited them, took advantage of them and abused them for his own sexual gratification."

Tilley commended the victims for coming forward and sharing their "harrowing and horrific experiences as children."