BBC veteran broadcaster jailed for sex assaults

British broadcaster Stuart Hall arrives at Preston Magistrates Court in north west England, on January 7, 2013, to face charges of the alleged indecent assault of three girls aged between nine and sixteen on various dates between the years 1974 and 1984. Hall denies the allegations. AFP/Paul Ellis

LONDON — Veteran British television and radio presenter Stuart Hall was jailed for 15 months on Monday after admitting to 14 charges of indecently assaulting girls as young as nine.

Prosecutors said the 83-year-old, who presented the hit BBC television show “It’s a Knockout” in the 1970s and 1980s, was an “opportunistic predator” who befriended his victims before assaulting them.

The abuse surfaced following a police investigation into revelations about late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, now believed to be one of Britain’s worst-ever sex offenders.

Judge Anthony Russell said during sentencing that the broadcaster was known for his “genial personality.”

He said: “The general public now know that there is a darker side to you, one hidden from the public view until now — and a side which you were able to conceal, taking advantage of your status as a well-liked celebrity.

“Several of these cases reveal an abuse of power by you because your status gave you an influence and standing which you abused.”

Many of Hall’s victims were sitting behind him in the public gallery.

The judge noted that “nearly every victim was a child” at the time.

“The repeated sexual abuse of young children, too young to consent and in no position to resist your advances, even if the individual acts are relatively mild, is a serious crime,” he said.

Known for his florid descriptive style, scattered with allusions to literary classics, Hall was in recent years a familiar voice on BBC radio commentating on English Premier League football.

He has not worked for the corporation since the allegations emerged.

The assaults, involving 13 victims, took place between 1967 and 1985, when he regularly appeared on television in Britain.

Hall pleaded guilty in April. A charge of rape that he denies has been allowed to stay on the file after the alleged victim said she did not want to go through a trial.

Hall’s lawyer Crispin Aylett said he had been arrested “as a consequence” of the Savile investigations but his crimes were nowhere near that scale.

“In the dock today is a frightened and bewildered 83-year-old man answering for the touching — no more, no less — of all of 13, — not 1,300 — victims over a quarter of a century ago,” he said.

The BBC has asked a former High Court judge to investigate Hall’s behavior while he worked for them, to be published as part of a review into Savile’s actions when employed by the corporation.

“The BBC is appalled that some of Stuart Hall’s crimes took place in connection with his work at the BBC and offer an unreserved apology to the people he abused,” the broadcaster said in a statement.