A PAEDOPHILE who used his Essex-based football club to assault young boys pleaded guilty to a string of child abuse charges in 2007.
Daniel Gersh, 35, of Aldborough Road, Ilford, was director of the Southside Juniors’ Football Club for four years, and used his position to gain children’s trust and molest them.
Gersh appeared at Blackfriars Crown Court and pleaded guilty to a total of 60 child abuse charges:
Three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13.
The assault of a child under 13
Eight counts of indecent assault on a male person.
12 counts of making an indecent photograph.
Eight counts of taking an indecent photograph.
22 counts of possessing indecent photograph of a child.
Six counts of possessing with a view to their being disturbed or shown.
Gersh has been remanded in custody for sentencing on a date to be confirmed.
The paedophile was arrested after a nine-year-old boy said he had been abused by the football coach and his parents called the police.
A computer hard drive and home video tapes found in the abuser’s home contained more than 55,200 indecent images of children and 3,140 indecent movies of children.
Detectives in the Met’s Child Abuse Investigation Command’s Major Investigation Team went on to identify eight more boys who were abused by Gersh after studying the material.
Detective Chief Inspector Dave Marshall, leading the investigation from the unit base in Stratford, said: “Daniel Gersh worked under the guise of a dedicated football coach to groom and abuse young boys.
“He displayed a frightening level of planning using his football coaching expertise to gain the trust of children and their parents. Once unsupervised with the boys he would often become aggressive before abusing them.
“Many of the vulnerable youngsters were fooled into believing the assaults would help them become rising football stars, thus enabling Gersh to go undetected for some time.
“We can only hope that the conviction of Gersh today goes some way to help the families affected and prevent any more children from suffering in the same way.
If you are able to assist in our enquiries or have any knowledge of southside juniors foot ball club whom we believe are nowpractising under a different name please get in touch.
Furthermore, if you have been abused or assaulted then please contact us in the strictest of confidence for appropriate legal advice.
