Footballer fights to save his playing career as he speaks out on wrongful conviction

32 year old footballer Shaun Tuton fights to save his playing career as he speaks out on a wrongful conviction.

He was wrongly convicted of performing a sex act in public, describing it “the toughest time of his life”, and is now hoping to get back to doing what he loves in being on the pitch playing football.

The ex-Barnsley striker was dropped by Whitby Town having been found guilty of outraging public decency, and this made the national press.

As can be seen in The Sun’s piece below, Tuton was accused of playing with himself under his joggers and groaning ‘sexually’ before asking her: “Are you alright love?”.

The female, Lauren Hague, thanked The Sun for “highlighting it.”

Imagine how Shaun Tuton felt with all this going on, with all this written, his name mentioned, and yet he didn’t do it.

If you want to know who to blame, look no further than The Sun. pic.twitter.com/gzhQveWK3F

— Shankfist Wreckage Technique (@NOTShankfist) July 31, 2024

We can confirm that Shaun Tuton has departed Whitby Town by mutual consent. pic.twitter.com/mE0OwnVPtG

— Whitby Town FC (@WhitbyTownFC) April 7, 2023

Speaking to the BBC, he said: “It’s taken up so many years of my life already, now I want to use these last years I’ve got to try and play at the highest level I can and try and enjoy something I love.”

He had grafted hard to get where he was, playing academy football and had spells with non league sides Teversal, Matlock Town, Belper Town and Buxton before shining at FC Halifax Town with his Shaymen performances seeing him compared with Jamie Vardy.

In 2016 he signed for Barnsley and was part of the squad that won promotion to the Championship that year.

Tuton had spells with Grimsby Town, Barrow and FC Halifax Town, Chester, Spennymoor Town, Chorley, Boston United, Alfreton Town, Guiseley, Matlock Town and Belper Town between 2016 and 2023.

But, within months of signing for Whitby Town in 2023, he was arrested by police investigating an incident at Sheffield railway station dating back to 2021.

“I was gobsmacked,” he said.

“When they first started to arrest me they said it was an incident at a train station, but in my head I knew whatever situation it was it was impossible because I’d not been on a train in years.

“When they actually said what it was I was in disbelief. No one wants to be put in that category.”

He spoke of being shown CCTV footage of the man believed to be him and had been left “in shock”, saying the suspect looked “completely different” to him.

His mother said to the BBC: “We just brushed it off straight away. You could see it wasn’t Shaun. He looked completely different.”

Then he was picked out of a police line up. On the 28th of March 2023, he was found guilty at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court of outraging public decency, given an 12-month community order and had to pay £250 in compensation.

He made headlines across the country with one headline reading “Perv Nailed”.

Upon his conviction, Whitby terminated his contract.

Tuton says: “It was heartbreaking. I was branded as this horrible human.

“I lost my club and I lost my income because of this.

“I told them I would be appealing. They could have waited.”

The BBC say they approached Whitby Town for a comment but are yet to get a response back.

“It was horrible,” Tuton continued to say. “I used to sit in my bedroom and just cry.

“I’ve played football since I was six. It was never a job for me. It was my place of freedom and it was just taken away.”

His mum adds: “I used to watch him 24 hours a day. I used to sit outside his bedroom door listening to him breathing. He didn’t want his life at that moment.”

Mr Tuton appealed having been “better prepared”, and his conviction was deemed wrongful during a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on the 20th of September 2023

He produced mobile phone and training records, with his manager at the time of the incident and an ex-teammate of his giving additional evidence.

“When they said I was not guilty I froze. It took for me to look at my friends and my family, and they were hugging… that’s when it hit, I’d finally after all this time got this massive weight off my shoulders.”

Asked about Mr Tuton’s case, a Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “After carefully reviewing all the evidence available at the time, we proceeded with the prosecution based on our view that there was sufficient evidence to put before the court, and we respect the decision of the court to overturn Shaun Tuton’s conviction on appeal.”

He end the interview with the BBC by he wanted to “set the record straight”.

“People were quick to put it out there, that a footballer were getting done in a court for this,” he said.

“Now I’ve proved that it wasn’t me, there’s nothing that’s been put out there to say I was done wrong.”

HIS CAREER:

Teversal
Matlock Town
2012–2013 – Belper Town
2013–2014 – Matlock Town
2014–2015 – Buxton
2015–2016 – FC Halifax Town – 32 games (11 goals)
2016–2018 – Barnsley – 7 games (0 goals)
2016–2017 → Grimsby Town (loan) – 12 games (0 goals)
2017 → Barrow (loan) – 14 games (1 goal)
2018 → FC Halifax Town (loan) – 7 games (0 goals)
2018 – Chester – 2 games (0 goals)
2018–2019 – Spennymoor Town – 28 games (1 goal)
2019 → Chorley (loan) – 6 games (0 goals)
2019–2020 – Boston United – 13 games (0 goals)
2020–2021 – Alfreton Town – 9 games (0 goals)
2021–2022 – Guiseley – 9 games (1 goal)
2022 – Matlock Town – 7 games (1 goal)
2022–2023 – Belper Town – 11 games (2 goals)
2023 – Whitby Town – 10 games (2 goals)
2023– Handsworth – 12 games (1 goal)