A FOOTBALL coach in Chipping Norton has been accused of asking boys for indecent photos in exchange for naked pictures of his girlfriend.
Luke Newman, 29, is on trial at Oxford Crown Court charged with two counts of being an offender over 18 inciting or causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity in relation to two different boys.
The coach, who worked for Chipping Norton Swifts FC, allegedly messaged two youngsters asking for pictures of them in their boxers.
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In exchange, he reportedly promised to send them back a naked picture of his girlfriend.
Newman, of Evans Way, Chipping Norton, has denied the offences.
During the trial on Tuesday (May 14), the jury heard evidence from a friend of one of the alleged victims, both of whom cannot be named for legal reasons.
He said that when his friend first told him about the alleged incident, he thought it was a joke, until it was brought up again a few years later.
Speaking to police, they said: “He first mentioned it to me a few years ago and I just thought it was a joke, he never went into details about it.
“So I thought, ‘Okay it’s an inside joke’ as at the time [Newman] was my football coach and he was fine with me so I didn’t think much of it.
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“He [the complainant] would just make jokes like ‘Luke’s a n****, he’s paedophile’ but I didn’t think anything about it.”
The boy said the alleged incident was then brought up again at a later date.
“I can’t remember how it got brought into conversation but…he did send a boxer picture to Luke.
“He said he got a picture back of Luke’s girlfriend naked. He said he eventually told us because he was worried it might be happening to other people.
“We laughed about it when he said it.
"But the fact he said, ‘I think I need to tell people because he might be doing it to other people’, he sounded quite serious when he said that and I don’t hear the serious side of him a lot.”
The boy said he then told his parents about what he was told.
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Talking about Newman as a coach, he added: “He would sometimes make, I think, references to having sex with his girlfriend.
“But he would never say anything directly to me or message me. I just thought he was trying to be a lad with the boys so I didn’t take much notice of it.”
The trial continues.
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