Former Australian Rules footballer Barry Cable has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a young girl decades ago.

Cable, 80, appeared in a Perth court this morning to face five counts of indecently dealing with a girl under 13, and two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 13.

Police allege Cable sexually assaulted the complainant between January 1, 1967 and April 27, 1968, when she was between nine and 10 years old.

He was arrested on Friday.

Represented by high profile lawyer Tom Percy K.C., Cable appeared in court on Thursday supported by his sons.

He pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.

It is the first time Cable has appeared in public since a District Court judge’s finding, in a civil case, that he repeatedly sexually abused a young girl in the 1960s and 70s when he was at the height of his playing career.

The judge found that the abuse started when the girl was 12.

The woman was awarded more than $800,000 for what Judge Mark Herron found was the “catastrophic” damage she suffered.

Despite the ruling, the woman’s lawyers said it was unlikely she would receive any money because the court was told before trial Cable had been declared bankrupt.

The standard of proof in civil cases is the “balance of probabilities”, which is a lesser standard than in criminal cases, which requires a finding of “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

Cable has always denied the allegations and he has never been charged with any offences relating to the woman.

He did not take any part or a have a lawyer represent him in last year’s civil trial, which also heard evidence from four other women who alleged they, too, were abused by him when they were young, in the 1980s and 90s.

It is understood the complainant in the criminal charges Cable is now facing is not the complainant in the civil case, or any of the four other women who testified at the civil case.

Football honours revoked

Cable was widely regarded as one the greatest West Australian football players of all time having had a lengthy and successful career in both the WA and Victorian Football Leagues in the 1960s and 70s.

He won two VFL premierships with North Melbourne — a club he went on to coach — as well as four WAFL premierships and three Sandover medals for being the competition’s best and fairest player.

After last year’s civil judgement, Cable was removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame and the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.

His bail has been renewed until his next court appearance in early August.

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