OUTWARDLY he was a pillar of the community.

Ray Barnes was a special constable, a magistrate and a stalwart of Hampshire’s grassroots football scene.

Today his hard-earned reputation is shattered after jurors took less than four hours to find him guilty of sexual abusing three boys over a 20-year period.

The former head of Hampshire Football Association was convicted of five charges of indecent assault between 1964 and 1983. The jury cleared him of another indecent assault charge and the judge ordered them to acquit him of another similar charge.

As the verdicts were read out, Barnes’ supporters in the public gallery gasped in disbelief. But the 74-year-old stood steadily on his feet, showing no emotion.

Married father-of-four Barnes, of Grateley Close, Weston, Southampton, was given bail before a sentencing date on January 14. He was also put on the sex offenders’ register.

Jurors at Bournemouth Crown Court heard how he shared a passion for football with his victims, one as young as 11, by taking them to matches. He even gave some of them brief driving lessons.

He would then indecently assault them in his car, his home or a flat in Southampton.

But one victim broke his silence in June last year after more than 30 years.

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Barnes’ arrest was then reported in the Daily Echo – spurring two more victims to come forward.

Don Tait, prosecuting, told jurors: “The genie is now out of the lamp.

“No doubt the defendant has put a lot of time and effort into the community and the criminal justice system.

But you will of course remember that the defendant has had this dark secret for many years. It’s now come back to haunt him.”

The earliest assault was in 1964 against an 11-yearold boy. Barnes befriended him while playing football close to the Bridge Tavern pub in Coxford. Another time Barnes took him to a flat where he discussed art before asking him to strip naked so he could draw him. The child was then indecently assaulted.

Another victim was assaulted in 1973, aged 14. He also bonded with Barnes over football and enjoyed matches together. But one evening, after a game, he woke up in Barnes’ home in Northam to find he was being indecently assaulted.

The third victim was 16 when Barnes sexually assaulted him as they drove back to Southampton along the M3 from a football match. Barnes let the boy take the steering wheel before reaching over and carrying out the indecent act.

Speaking after the trial, DC Heather Engley, the officer leading the investigation, said she was pleased with the outcome because it had taken a lot for the victims to come forward.

She told the Daily Echo: “Despite the fact the abuse happened many years ago, through speaking with witnesses and compiling evidence we were able to culminate the evidence to show the abuse that had taken place by Mr Barnes.

This took time but we were able to do it.

“The fact Mr Barnes was previously a trusted and respected member of society only made the matters worse.

“We always look to support victims in all cases of abuse, whether recent or historic. Just because something may have happened some years ago doesn’t mean it can’t be proved that it did happen, as this case has shown.”