I was in prison FIVE times before I turned my life around to become an EFL star… now I’m a full-time church pastor

ON October 28, 1988, Ricky Junior Otto was sentenced to 4 years successful situation aged 20 — the past of his 5 jailhouse terms.

He accepts helium was a thug, bully and out-and-out menace to nine — a merchandise of a convulsive civilization which ruled with fearfulness increasing up successful Hackney, East London.

But pursuing the clip helium served at Wandsworth, connected this juncture for equipped robbery, Otto walked retired connected January 25, 1990 an wholly antithetic idiosyncratic to the 1 who arrived.

And, remarkably, it was 2 inmates serving lengthy sentences who provided him with a lightbulb infinitesimal that changed his beingness forever.

Now 56, Otto revealed: “It was these 2 guys — 1 was doing 24 years for murder, the different 17 for manslaughter.

“They had watched maine playing football successful the gym and realised I had a endowment and expressed this successful the astir unthinkable way.

“They told maine thing that time I person ne'er forgotten: ‘Don’t service the time, fto the clip service you’.

“From that infinitesimal I understood what they meant: ‘Don’t conscionable beryllium successful prison doing thing but alternatively commencement preparing yourself present for erstwhile you are released’.

“After that I became a gym orderly and started to hole myself mentally and physically for a beingness aft prison. It was conscionable the footwear up the backside that I needed.

“When I walked retired of Wandsworth successful 1990, I knew it was a caller opening — with shot being my flight into a caller world.”

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The erstwhile winger said: “My contiguous thought was to re-engage with my aged team-mates who were present playing for amateur broadside Haringey Borough.

“After a fewer games I got injured and I was sent for attraction astatine non-league Dartford. I ended up playing 4 games for them.

“My performances caught the oculus of Leyton Orient absorption duo Frank Clark and Peter Eustace.

“They knew of my past and did not justice maine but offered maine a week’s trial, which was the accidental of a beingness that I’d been dreaming of portion serving my time.

“The proceedings was palmy and I signed my archetypal nonrecreational declaration 10 months aft being released and conscionable a mates of weeks earlier my 23rd birthday. It was the champion day contiguous ever!”

After playing successful the reserves and learning the game, Otto yet got the accidental to marque his league debut erstwhile helium was made sub for Orient’s fourth-tier crippled astatine Fulham successful 1991, conscionable 15 months aft his release.

He continued: “It was the past crippled of the season. I played the past 15 minutes, I should person scored too. But I was connected the transportation playing and I had this fantastic feeling of achievement.”

The pursuing play helium played 32 league games for the O’s, scoring his archetypal extremity astatine Hartlepool successful September 1991.

Otto said: “It was flattering that Barry Fry — past with Barnet — had watched maine play against his broadside successful the London Cup last and was intelligibly impressed.

“When Barry joined Southend successful April 1993 helium signed maine for £100,000. I don’t deliberation I played successful a amended broadside astatine the commencement of the 1993-94 season.

“Had Barry not been headhunted by Birmingham I genuinely judge we would person gone connected to marque the play-offs successful what was the Championship astatine the extremity of that season.

“We had specified a fantastic camaraderie, with wins against large clubs with multi-million-pound budgets similar Sunderland, Derby, Stoke and Middlesbrough. We were flying!”

Otto’s adjacent determination was to nexus up with Fry again astatine Birmingham — this clip successful an £800,000 power to St Andrew’s.

His top shot memories see his stunning equaliser against Liverpool astatine Anfield successful the 1995 FA Cup and playing for City successful the Football League Trophy last the aforesaid twelvemonth — erstwhile his assistance provided the extra-time victor for Paul Tait successful beforehand of implicit 76,000 fans astatine Wembley.

Otto said: “I retrieve travelling connected the manager to Wembley with a oversea of Birmingham fans walking towards the stadium.

“I had that pinch-me infinitesimal wherever I couldn’t judge I was going to beryllium playing astatine Wembley.”

After Birmingham, Otto played astatine Charlton, Peterborough and Notts County connected loan.

It was portion helium was with County, under Sam Allardyce, that helium suffered a cruciate ligament wounded which yet ended his career.

He said: “I did negociate to play again but I was ne'er the aforesaid player. I’d mislaid that gait of gait and I ever had that twinge of symptom erstwhile I was playing.”

After 10 years, helium knew his vocation was over.

He added: “Having near schoolhouse with nary qualifications this was a play erstwhile I had deliberation what I was going to bash for the remainder of my life.

“Of course, I could person slipped backmost into my aged ways before shot but I knew I had to physique different section to my life.”

Instead, helium trained arsenic a probation officer, aboriginal creating his ain consultancy moving with offenders and those astatine hazard of offending.

Ricky said: “My enactment has enabled maine to prosecute with immoderate of the country’s astir prolific offenders.

“Being capable to subordinate to their journey, I americium capable to usage the aforesaid aged adage that was spoken into my beingness erstwhile incarcerated: Don’t service the time, fto the clip service you.

“For astir 20 years I person chiefly worked with adults. However, implicit the past 2 years I’ve been moving with Walsall Youth Justice Service arsenic a Resettlement Disproportionality Officer.”

Even much remarkably, father-of-three Ricky is simply a committed Christian and, aft passing his grade successful Theology, is Pastor of ARC Birmingham Church. He is presently studying for a Masters degree.

Yet successful reflection of his bonzer 56 years, Otto readily admits: “Without a shadiness of a doubt, shot saved my life.”