Cricket coach abuser is urged to ‘come clean’ DON’T MISS
Judge calls on former scout to remember his victims ANOTHER AMAZING OFFER
A FORMER Durham junior cricket coach and scout has been advised to “come clean” about any other victims of his sexual offending as he awaits sentence for a sixth time.
Michael Strange, 64, has been convicted on five previous occasions for abusing young cricketers.
Last month, he pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault on two males which occurred between 1986 and 1995.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are currently carrying out an internally-led review into Strange’s offending.
In a case which concluded last year, the governing body was accused by a victim of failing to protect him and “countless others” from Strange, who police described as a “monster” when he was sentenced to a two-year prison term in September 2023.
The ECB opened a review after another abuse survivor urged the governing body to hold an inquiry into Strange’s offending.
Yesterday (Thursday), Strange appeared by video link at a committal for sentence hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, when Judge Sarah Mallett urged him to be honest about the full extent of his offending.
She said: “One thing that occurred to me was that if the defendant is aware of any other victims of his offending, I can’t help feeling it would be in his best interests to make a clean breast of it.”
She added that failure to do so “undermines the indication of remorse”.
Judge Mallett added: “I am not putting him under pressure to admit other offences, I am merely flagging up what is obvious to me.
“It is not really operating to his benefit to have these allegations heard piecemeal. If the defendant has no memory problems and no other issues preventing him remembering, he ought to be able to remember all his victims, or there are too many boys.
“I would invite some reflection on the advantages of coming clean on any matters that may or may not be outstanding.”
Sentencing was adjourned until September 17 to give Strange the opportunity to see police statements related to the case. Prosecutor Rachel Glover said the complainants in the case were “extremely distressed”.
Strange was a coach affiliated to Durham and coached at other clubs in the North East. Police started investigating him in 2005, but his first victim was not able to proceed with the complaint.
It was not until 2011 when police were able to gather sufficient evidence to submit a case to the Crown Prosecution Service and obtain charges that saw Strange first convicted in 2012.
He has since been sentenced for historical child abuse linked to cricket in 2016, 2020, 2022, and 2023.