Barry Cable civil trial hears claim woman’s friend was touched at sleepover

A woman who alleges she was abused by footy star Barry Cable has told a civil hearing against him he sexually touched her teenage friend at a sleepover.

A woman suing AFL legend Barry Cable alleges a teenage friend of hers was also inappropriately touched by the footballer.

Mr Cable denies allegations he sexually abused the woman as a teenager and sexually harassed her as an adult.

Under questioning for a second day by her lawyer Tim Hammond in Western Australia’s District Court, the woman detailed how a similarly-aged friend slept over at the Cable house on New Year’s Eve 1970.

The plaintiff ZYX, as she’s known, and her friend would have been aged about 15 at the time.

She told the court they were awake until the early hours in the backyard, spying on a neighbour‘s New Year’s Eve party, when Mr Cable went to see them.

Australian football great Barry Cable is being sued over allegations he sexually abused a Perth teenager at the height of his playing career. Picture: 7 News

The woman at the centre of the case, who can’t be identified, claimed in court that Mr Cable would molest her on a couch while her younger sister slept next to her. Picture: 7 News

“He touched me and I remember seeing him touch [friend],” ZYX told the court.

“He touched her on the bottom. I remember hearing music from next door, there was a tree … I remember we were in our pyjamas, [Cable] poking me with his finger on the bottom.”

The incident is just one of several instances of sexual harassment and abuse alleged by the ZYX from 1967 to 1991.

Mr Cable denies all allegations against him, and has never been charged. Part of his defence, previously submitted to the court as documents, claim he and the plaintiff had a consensual sexual relationship over three years when she was an adult.

Asked about this by Mr Hammond in court, ZYX said she didn't consider it consensual.

“I felt absolutely powerless. No matter what I said he wouldn't stop,” she said.

“I’d revert to being a 13-year-old child. No matter what I said I didn’t think I could ever stop him.”

The woman was also presented with her Collins pocket diaries from the early 1970s, which helped her remember instances and dates during a statement recorded by WA Police in 1998.

“The diaries sometimes just remind me, but in some instances are like they just happened yesterday,” she said.

Asked why she didn't write specifics of the alleged abuse, the woman said: “I couldn’t write the details … I didn’t want anyone to have seen my diaries. I was so repulsed by it.”

Earlier on Thursday, she detailed instances where Mr Cable allegedly touched her inappropriately on a couch at his home while he younger sister slept by her side.

North Melbourne legend Barry Cable is facing a civil hearing against him, where a woman alleges she was sexually abused by him over a period of years. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)

The court was also told how the alleged abuse caused her to develop eating disorders, pull out her hair and pubic hair, and abuse laxatives to purge.

The plaintiff is seeking $1m in damages from Mr Cable, however, any sort of payout from the trial is unlikely, as the 79-year-old declared bankruptcy in January.

Judge Mark Herron has allowed the matter, set down for five days, to proceed despite Mr Cable’s absence.

ZYX wrapped up her testimony on Thursday.

The matter will resume on until Friday when the court will hear from an overseas witness, the plaintiff’s husband, as well as three medical experts.