49-year-old football coach arrested for having sex with teenage players in Lagos
A 49-year-old football coach, Frank Darlington was on Thursday arrested in the Agege area of Lagos state on accusations that he engaged in acts of sodomy with three of his teenage players.
Darlington, a native of Imo State, who manages Soccer Warriors Football Academy, Pen Cinema, was apprehended by the Lagos State Police Command, Elere Division, after one of his victims reported him for having sex with him.
Upon interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime, saying he only had sex with the boys “just to play with them.”
Darlington, findings further revealed, has a daughter who lives with his ex-wife in Imo State. He said he had put a stop to the act since July this year.
“I have a female daughter, and she is three years old. I manage the Soccer Warriors Football Academy in the Pen Cinema, Agege area. It was in February 2015 that the rape started. I usually had sex with my boys just to play with them. It was romance. We had fun together. The last one I did was in July 2016, knowing that it could get me into trouble,” he told PUNCH.
“I slept with only three of my footballers. There was one of my boys that had not been coming for training since last week. When I asked after him, I was told that he was sick. I did not know that he had reported to his mother and she had told the police.
“I do not know what moved me to be sleeping with them. I have been coaching for about 12 years. My wife stays in the South-East. She left me in March 2016. The sex with the boys was not for any ritual. I only derived fun from it.
“I knew it was a crime and that was why I stopped this act since July. I pledged not to go back into this.”
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One of the victims, name withheld, told the publication that Darlington threatened he would suffer a sudden death if he told anyone about the sodomy, but was forced to tell his mother when his coach made it a habit.
“He always had sex with me and with most of us. He started last year. The first time he approached me was after a training session. We were on the football pitch and he said my performance was bad and I should meet him at home for a discussion.
“When I went, he and two boys were at home. His wife did not stay with him. He sent the two boys on an errand and asked me to come into his room. He then instructed me to remove my trousers, and he molested me.
“He did not use any protection. He did not give me any money, but he threatened that I would die if I told anyone. I cannot count how many times he had done this to me. I told my mother when I was tired of his abuse. My mother reported him at the police station,” he explained.
Another victim said that the football academy has lost a large number of footballers because Darlington “always slept with two or three of us every week.”
Fatai Owoseni, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police who paraded the club manager, said the suspect would be charged to court at the end of investigation.
“There is no place for criminals to hide in the state. We enjoin the residents of Lagos to report suspicious movements and persons to the police,” he said.
