A teenager who shared a bed with his football coach has told a court it made him feel “uncomfortable” but said “in terms of doing anything sexual, he never crossed that line”.
The witness was giving evidence on the second day of the trial involving former football coach Mark McAuley at Inverness Sheriff Court.
The now-19-year-old told a jury he had shared a bed with McAuley when staying at his home – an arrangement he now considered “a bit weird”.
McAuley, 33, denies nine charges, involving four boys, alleged to have taken place between 2016 and 2019.
He is accused of sexually assaulting two boys under the age of 13 and two charges of engaging in sexual activity with boys under the age of 16.
He also faces three charges of directing a verbal sexual communication to a child and one of causing a child to hear a verbal sexual communication, as well as a single charge of causing a child to look at a sexual image.
The offences are alleged to have taken place at addresses in Tain, Dunfermline and Edinburgh, as well as in a vehicle on the A9 and elsewhere.
‘An adult shouldn’t be doing that with kids’
The jury was shown a video of a police interview with McAuley, of Pitdinnie Place, Dunfermline, in which he admitted he had shared his bed with the boys.
He denied there had been any sexual contact, saying: “I was looking after them, I did nothing sinister.
“I understand how it can seem but there was nothing sinister going on.”
Asked if he regretted his behaviour with the children, he said: “Sitting here now absolutely I regret it.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing.”
Taking to the stand the teenager explained he had got to know the accused through his sports coaching.
In evidence led by fiscal dispute Susan Love he said: “At the time I really liked Mark.
“He helped me improve football, he would give me one-to-one sessions and that.
“At the time I thought it was a good relationship.”
The court heard McAuley developed a friendship with the boy’s mother and would sometimes have him for overnight stays if she was away.
“Looking back now, knowing what I know, I think the way he was with me and others was a bit weird – an adult shouldn’t be doing that with kids,” the witness told the court.
He described staying at McAuley’s home with a second alleged victim, who gave his evidence on Tuesday and both boys had shared the bed with the coach, then in his 20s.
He said on one occasion the coach had massaged him on the thighs and hip for around five minutes, making him feel “uncomfortable”.
“He said it would make my legs feel better,” he said.
‘He never crossed the line’
Asked by defence counsel Wendy Culross if McAuley had ever “crossed a line” or did “anything inappropriate,” the witness replied: “He stayed in a bed with me.
“In terms of anything sexual he never crossed that line.”
The witness’s mother also gave evidence and told the court her son had “a lot of respect for Mark”.
“If Mark asked him to do something he would do it,” she said.
But she revealed latterly her son had become reluctant to spend time with the coach, telling her: “I don’t want to go, I don’t want to stay there.”
It was revealed she had later questioned the boy about McAuley’s behaviour when she learned an allegation had been made against him but the boy had seemed unaware of any issues.
The trial, before Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald, continues.
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