Disgraced ex-AFL player Barry Cable has first hearing in District Court since pleading not guilty to historical sexual abuse charges

Disgraced AFL legend Barry Cable has had his first hearing in the WA District Court since pleading not guilty to historical sexual abuse charges dating back more than 50 years. Mr Cable has been charged with seven offences that allegedly involved a girl aged nine and 10 at the time of the alleged offending. He was not required to appear in person but was represented by his lawyer in court. The prosecutor said there were several witnesses the state was considering, but because of the complexity of the application, it had not been finalised. The prosecutor said five witnesses were being considered to give evidence in the trial, and if all five were called, they expected the trial to take 10 days. Mr Cable’s lawyer asked for the matter to be adjourned for two weeks to give the state time to confirm its plan. “There are more propensity witnesses than complainants,” he said. Mr Cable is facing five counts of indecent dealing with a girl under 13 and two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 13. The former AFL Hall of Famer would have been aged 24 at the time of the alleged offences, which was at the prime of his football career. He had won WAFL premierships in both 1967 and 1968. Mr Cable has been stripped of his AFL Legend and Hall of Fame status. North Melbourne also removed him from their Hall of Fame, as did the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. The matter was adjourned in the WA District Court until February 14.