I respectfully beg to differ. Let him be treated quite leniently, because he did plead guilty, thereby sparing his victims the further ordeal of a court appearance, he is old and probably won't offend again and, most important, lenient treatment may encourage others to confess and spare their victims the ordeal of giving evidence and being cross examined. We recently saw the suicide of a distinguished lady violinist after she had to give evidence and was cross examined. What really does horrify me is how widespread such behaviour seems to be.
I can see sense in both arguments. Old age should not be a mitigating factor in sentencing. Jail is also supposed to be a punishment, and a warning of worse to come on re offending, if the offender is young enough.
I would think the disgrace is a pretty severe punishment in itself. He'd probably be happy to go to jail to get away from his neighbours. I'm not sure he should be allowed to.
I can also see both sides of this. I agree that his guilty plea does have a positive effect in that the victims are spared the process. Although I'm pretty sure those victims were perfectly willing to present their case. Also, I'm pretty sure that this fact and the overwhelming case against against him left him no real option other than a guilty plea. His guilty plea, in my view, is made solely for selfish reasons. I also believe age should not be any contributing factor in his sentencing. His actions sentenced his victims to a lifetime of issues. I too am shocked and surprised at the number of cases now being revealed.
I'm not at all interested in his motives for pleading guilty. I am interested in sparing as many victims as possible the horrible ordeal of being cross-examined by Counsel for the defence. This is the sort of thing that concerns me - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/08/sexual-abuse-victim-killed-herself-trial Anything within reason that spares victims such treatment should be encouraged.
I had no idea about this story till I read this thread.. Is this the guy that used to have me in stitches when I was a kid on "Its a knockout"? If its the same guy then perhaps the real shame belongs to his friends and hangers on at the BEEB that felt that they couldn't blow the whistle at the time.. It just makes me wonder what other horrors we haven't heard about yet of the 60`s 70`s. and 80`s!! My happy childhood memories of these old stars have exploded into a nightmare for me.. Very disappointed and angry. Did the BBC knowingly hide this stuff back then?...Till now?
This story broke in late 2012 when he was arrested and I was not aware until now?? Not sure how I missed this story if it was widely reported on the nett.? The Jimmy Saville thing was all over the internet from the off..
That is the fellow. To be honest, I wonder how much his superiors would have known - and it looks very much as if, with about a hundred people wanting every job at the BBC, people who were junior, and did know something, kept quiet for fear of losing their jobs.
I really am shocked by this... That guy would have been one of the last guys on my suspect list !! I`d be interested to know why the young girl didnt come forward long long before now? Perhaps she was afraid that no one would believe her until the Saville revelations?? Im so f@king angry now its hard to express.. Im sure others in my age group feel similar.
I think that's exactly the point - who would believe anyone making such an allegation against such a well liked and respected man? Thst would apply both to his victims and to his numerous junior colleagues - who would have been earning a fraction of what he got paid, and would have been at serious risk of getting fired for "risking the good name of the BBC with unsavourfy allegations".
I think the maximum he can get is 10 years, this is because a woman who had told police he had raped her declined to take it to court after hearing he had pleaded guilty to the other charges. I am of the opinion he did indeed rape her and the other offences they decided not to proceed with lacked some vital evidence such as not quite knowing the whens and where's of the offences since the victims had probably tried to block it out of their mind all of their lives. I hope he gets the full ten years, if he doesn't he will be heading overseas to live out his twilight years in a place he won't be known. Plus I hope his victims drag him through the civil courts seeking damages and it destroys his little nest egg (after his wife divorces him and takes her share). As for the guilty plea, I am certain it was because his legal team told him he had zero chance of getting out of it. After all, he did say to the media when arrested that the charges were "pernicious, callous, cruel and above all spurious", he also tried to bully the police with threats to take them through the ringer as well. Vile little man. Needs a prison cell...
Given that Hall, Saville and several other celebrities identified by the Met Police's Operation Yewtree all worked for the BBC, I think that organisation and its present and past managers and producers should be thoroughly investigated. It is they, after all, very likely pinko-liberal-arty-farty-live-and-let-live types who permitted such illegal activities to take place in the first place and all at the licence payers' expense. Those found to aided and abetted, even if tacitly or by omission, should be summarily dismissed (if still employed by the BBC), their pension rights forfeited and prosecuted for conspiracy. Personally I'd welcome a return to medieval forms of punishment for certain classes of crime including murder, sex and hate crimes and for being caught lying as a politician.
In defence of the BBC, there are very very strong indications that there is a far worse pederasty scandal in the wings, this time involving politicians - the North Wales childrens' homes cases. But this is being suppressed by the Murdoch press, because of their connections with the politicians - it can be used to blackmail them - whereas the Murdoch empire hates the BBC, not only for its reputation as a news source but because it played a big role in bringing out the phone hacking scandal.
Accusations from a long time ago. Entertainers and politicians are high profile people - easy targets, even decades later. Lower level staff flew beneath the radar and are long forgotten.
This Youtube video of Stuart Hall (apparently) singing a very rude song does not seem to have been 'discovered' yet. Certainly sounds like Stuart Hall but is it genuine? Interesting that it was posted on Youtube nearly three years ago! [video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H2a28hHv1g[/video]
I can't even look at his face at the moment. Having a daughter sharpened my enmity for these bar stewards.
