Barry Bennell pictured for the first time with fellow footie paedo Frank Roper and a team of kids holding bottles of booze
VILE Barry Bennell is pictured smirking menacingly alongside fellow footie paedo coach Frank Roper and a kids team.
A Sun investigation has uncovered evidence the beast, 64, was part of a depraved sex abuse ring of sporting professionals along with former youth coach Roper.
Their vile partnership can be revealed for the first time today after the first picture of them together with an Under-12s side has been unearthed.
Chillingly it was taken when Bennell was 19 - years before any of his known sexual offences took place, sparking questions about when he began his reign of terror.
It comes after the serial paedophile was today found guilty of seven more child sex abuse charges.
In total the former Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra coach has now been convicted of 43 counts against 11 victims.
On conviction it emerged a further 86 complaints were now being investigated by cops.
One of the kids – now an adult – told The Sun: “Such prolific paedophiles, why would they be together if not for doing wrong?”.
The pair smirk menacingly behind the young group who are holding beers in our exclusive picture taken back in 1974 in Blackpool.
There is no suggestion anyone in the picture was abused by the men.
At the time Bennell was at a juniors team, while Roper was working as a scout for the seaside town’s team.
The two sex offenders were so close they both went on an away trip to Barry Island with the boys later that year.
Frank Roper: profile of a predator
FRANK Roper was a youth football coach with links to Blackpool FC and Manchester City in the 1970s.
On the face of it he was a jolly and immensly popular local football figure in the North West.
But behind closed doors, he used his prominent position for his own sickening perversions.
He would promise boys trips abroad and promotion to senior teams to groom his child targets.
Roper also owned a sports shop in Blackpool and would ply youngsters with gifts like football boots and kits — luring children into trusting him.
Daytrips to the seaside town were also promised and some boys would stay over at his house, where his accusers say they were abused.
Accusations against him burst into the public eye in December 2016 after the Bennell revelations shook the sport.
Roper died in 2005, meaning his victims felt for the first time that they were safe to come forward with their harrowing stories.
Among the most prominent was former England international Paul Stewart — who said he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Roper and was threatened with the murder of his family if he spoke out.
He said: "I am disappointed that he won't be brought to justice and won't be held to account for his actions".
It is the first proof Roper – who abused ex-England star Paul Stewart – worked with Bennell and mixed in the same depraved circles.
The youngster who has the picture - who has asked not to be named – revealed: “Bennell, who we used to call Benny, ran the club in Manchester, I was in it.
“Roper came round to our house when I was 12 and said he thought I was brilliant and was scouting for Blackpool.
“Nothing untoward happened to me, but I was one of the lucky ones.
“I remember we had a tour of Blackpool stadium and we went to the amusements.
“The picture is on the seafront at a mock-up bar. It shows Roper and Bennell – who was about 19 at the time - were associates, I think it’s very significant.
“They must have been passing kids around. We did a tour to Barry Island that same year and they both came.
“Him and Roper were obviously thick as thieves.
“This shows they were associated with each other from a very early age. Such prolific paedophiles, why would they be together if do for doing wrong?”
Roper died in Stockport 11 years ago and was a renowned coach in the North West.
Stewart said last year: “If I’m honest I’m disappointed at Frank Roper’s death, purely and simply for the fact that he won’t be held accountable for his actions, for what he subjected me to.
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“My wife and daughters are gutted that he won’t be brought to justice.
“But I did not come forward specifically for Roper to be brought to justice. I did it because I thought it would encourage others who might be struggling with the issues that I struggled with.”