William Phillip Griffiths guilty of indecent assault of a minor after pursuing teenager at player gathering

A southern football club head trainer who made repeat sexual advances on a teenage player during a night out, following him into an Uber and harassing him for sex, has been jailed.

A southern football club head trainer who made repeated sexual advances on a teen player during a night out, until he was forced out of an Uber, has been jailed.

William Phillip Griffiths, 67, of Hackham West, sat with his head in his hands in the dock at Christies Beach Magistrate Court after pleading guilty to three counts of indecent assault of a minor.

The court heard Griffiths, who was the Christies Beach Football Club head trainer at the time, was heavily intoxicated when he grabbed the boy’s hand and placed it on his body.

William Phillip Griffiths pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault. Picture: Facebook

The court heard Griffiths and the victim were at a function when Griffiths became “fixated” on the boy in the early hours of the morning.

Magistrate Teresa Anderson said Griffiths had told the teen he “wanted to f**k him and that you wanted him to f**k you”.

“You began behaving inappropriately towards him saying things like you liked him and wanted to (perform a sexual act on him),” Magistrate Anderson said.

Despite the teen feeling uncomfortable, Griffiths pursued by grabbing the boy, slapping his behind and pulling him towards him.

“You then suggested you were just playing around but that certainly was not how he viewed it at the time,” Magistrate Anderson said.

The court heard Griffiths approached the teenager again 20 minutes later in the same manner.

The teenager booked an Uber to leave the function when Griffiths followed him into the vehicle

“He pushed you away, you again touched him … and tried to pull his pants down, he kept telling you to stop,” Magistrate Anderson said.

The Uber driver pulled over and Griffiths was forced out of the vehicle.

In a victim impact statement provided to the court, the teenager said he now struggled to be around older men and found himself becoming isolated.

“I have distanced myself from my mates I was with on the night, mates I have had since I was a kid,” the court heard.

“I do not want older men around me at all.”

Griffiths was immediately stood down from the club.

In her sentencing remarks, Magistrate Anderson said Griffiths had breached what is a “safe place” for many people, including children.

“This was not a safe place for the victim who was the object of you attention,” she said.

“He was still at school.”

Griffiths was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment.