Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis charged with sexual assault

[webfact]

I'll clear my name vows former Radio One DJ Dave Lee Travis as he's charged with 12 sex attacks over 30 years
Accused of 11 counts of indecent assault and a count of sexual assault
The offences are alleged to have taken place between 1977 and 2007
Charges relate to nine suspected victims aged between 15 and 29
Former BBC Radio One DJ to appear at court in London on August 23
DLT says he's 'disappointed police and CPS decided to bring charges'
By CHRIS GREENWOOD and MARK DUELL

LONDON: -- Dave Lee Travis vowed to clear his name last night after he was charged with 12 sexual offences, some dating back to the 1970s.

The 68-year-old, one of Britain’s best known DJs, said he is ‘very much looking forward’ to proving his innocence.

The former Radio 1 and Top Of The Pops presenter is accused of 11 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault over a 30-year period from 1977.

The allegations relate to eight women aged between 18 and 29 at the time and a girl of 15.

Senior lawyers said no further action would be taken concerning another seven allegations.

Travis, who was charged under his real name David Patrick Griffin, will appear before Westminster magistrates next Friday.

He has vehemently protested his innocence since his initial arrest nine months ago.

Dressed in grey jeans, a white open-neck shirt and a striped jacket, he looked despondent as he returned last night to the £1million Buckinghamshire mansion he shares with his wife Marianne.

He said: ‘To say the least I am very disappointed that the police and CPS have decided to bring these charges. These allegations are not true and I think the only other thing I can add to that statement is that I am very much looking forward to actually clearing my name on this and I can’t say more than that.’

Full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2394579/Dave-Lee-Travis-Radio-One-DJ-charged-12-sex-attacks-30-years.html

-- Daily Mail 2013-08-16

[Wavefloater]

Certainly, give him his day in court, but haven't all the BBC presenters, etc. charged with these types of crimes vehemently protested their innocence before finally confessing?

Hate to say it, but it seems that this type of behavior became entrenched in the BBC as part of its culture. How does something like that happen?

[uty6543]

it seams strange that so many at the BBC were at it. I hope they all appear in court and the truth is reveled.

[Credo]

Something is seriously amiss here. He's only been accused of 12 offenses over 30 years? Rather low considering some of the other scandals.

[Scott]

An off-topic, inflammatory post has been removed. This thread is about the BBC, it is not an indictment on the entire UK.

[oxo1947]

Certainly, give him his day in court, but haven't all the BBC presenters, etc. charged with these types of crimes vehemently protested their innocence before finally confessing?

Hate to say it, but it seems that this type of behavior became entrenched in the BBC as part of its culture. How does something like that happen?

all the BBC presenters, etc. charged with these types of crimes vehemently protested their innocence before finally confessing?

This is incorrect Wavefloater------ Please just Google it in, and you will find page after page of people accused of 30--40 year old + crimes found not guilty. A lot from the BBC. So far I can only think of 1 conviction--which was not a conviction in the sense that the person pleaded guilty.

Just Last week the most high profile case in the UK Eddie Shah Also returned a not guilty verdict'

Mr Shah also commented on Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree investigation, set up in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse

by BBC DJ Jimmy Savile and other television stars from the 1970s and 1980s.

He added that he had been helping a "very well-known person" charged under Operation Yewtree deal with the "horrible, horrible feeling" of "emptiness about everything",

which Mr Shah said he had experienced when he was wrongly accused of rape.

Asked if he thought the investigation was in danger of becoming a witch-hunt, he said: "I think it's developing into that. It's easy policing and it's easy prosecutions...

"In a civilised society there's got to be more checks and balances before these sort of accusations are used."

He also talked again about the suicidal thoughts he had experienced after his arrest.

"Every night I worked out different ways of committing suicide to help me go to sleep, actually," he said

In other Countries these accusations are not even allowed to come to court--- When given reasons why they would not prostitute this sort of crime the USA (where the age of consent is 18 & who no one could accuse of being lenient on most sex crimes)-- they state .---

Though child molestation is a monstrous crime, there are good reasons for a statute of limitations in sexual assault cases

—mainly that the longer you take to prosecute any crime, the more stale the evidence gets and the less reliable it is.

That when the charge is based on the word of the victim, timing can be especially important. “For example, if a person comes

forward with a claim of sexual assault when he was a 7-year-old, 20 years after the fact, arguably the charge is suspect from the beginning..

“The person’s memory has been subject to change and influence, essential witnesses might have forgotten the events or even be dead,

it may be impossible to get physical evidence in the case, and the like.” Furthermore, a long-delayed charge lessens the retributive and deterrent value of a conviction.

Eddie Shah case was a lot more serious charge--- most of the charges are about what the British refer to as Groping

On one side there is a lot of money to be made from a civil case if (after) the person is convicted. After all, everything that has gone wrong in that persons life in the last 30 years was down to that incident---And as you can see by the letters---in these sort of cases, not to many people willing to give the accused person the benefit of the doubt.

[HughJass]

"hows about that then?"

sorry wrong catchphrase

[Docno]

I'm impressed by how many people here are (correctly, IMHO) saying that he should be given his day in court to answer the charges. Some are even expressing doubt about his guilt even before evidence/testimony has been presented. What I find perplexing is why the same courtesy and logic is not applied by TV posters to people accused of similar acts in Thailand. In those cases, all you hear is a chorus of 'hang the bugger' or 'cut off his what-not'. Guess I'm missing the nuances....

[deecee10]

Can't help feeling that the 'sins' of 20, 30 and 40 years ago are being judged by the political correctness of today.

That doesn't mean that I condone the alleged sexual misconduct but I think that looking at events in the context of the time is important.

Values and attitudes do change over time and things that were 'acceptable' in a previous generation are not anymore.

Society has changed its attitude to a lot of things in 30 years and perhaps DLT has too, but his alleged sins of the past are going to be judged by the values of today.

Not saying what's right or wrong, just making an observation.

[tubby johnson]

The BBC needs to clean up its act. Yet another filthy rapist. Hope he gets a taste of his own medicine in jail.

[tubby johnson]

Can't help feeling that the 'sins' of 20, 30 and 40 years ago are being judged by the political correctness of today.

That doesn't mean that I condone the alleged sexual misconduct but I think that looking at events in the context of the time is important.

Values and attitudes do change over time and things that were 'acceptable' in a previous generation are not anymore.

Society has changed its attitude to a lot of things in 30 years and perhaps DLT has too, but his alleged sins of the past are going to be judged by the values of today.

Not saying what's right or wrong, just making an observation.

When was sexual assault ever acceptable in your lifetime?

You're in the 21st century now, not the Dark Ages. Behave accordingly.

[winstonc]

Can't help feeling that the 'sins' of 20, 30 and 40 years ago are being judged by the political correctness of today.

That doesn't mean that I condone the alleged sexual misconduct but I think that looking at events in the context of the time is important.

Values and attitudes do change over time and things that were 'acceptable' in a previous generation are not anymore.

Society has changed its attitude to a lot of things in 30 years and perhaps DLT has too, but his alleged sins of the past are going to be judged by the values of today.

Not saying what's right or wrong, just making an observation.

When was sexual assault ever acceptable in your lifetime?

You're in the 21st century now, not the Dark Ages. Behave accordingly.

best you behave boy,he hasnt been found guilty yet has he..and you want his <deleted> cut off ..behave accordingly yourself,,,

[SSSlongtime]

whos old and was not having sex in the 60 s

[tubby johnson]

A disconcerting number of people turning up on this thread in defence of an accused serial rapist.

Ought to make the rest of us worry about what sort of dodgy types frequent TV these days.

[uty6543]

A disconcerting number of people turning up on this thread in defence of an accused serial rapist.

Ought to make the rest of us worry about what sort of dodgy types frequent TV these days.

Don't worry about it. Its probably the people who believe in the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

[b19bry]

The BBC needs to clean up its act. Yet another filthy rapist. Hope he gets a taste of his own medicine in jail.

Can't help feeling that the 'sins' of 20, 30 and 40 years ago are being judged by the political correctness of today.

That doesn't mean that I condone the alleged sexual misconduct but I think that looking at events in the context of the time is important.

Values and attitudes do change over time and things that were 'acceptable' in a previous generation are not anymore.

Society has changed its attitude to a lot of things in 30 years and perhaps DLT has too, but his alleged sins of the past are going to be judged by the values of today.

Not saying what's right or wrong, just making an observation.

When was sexual assault ever acceptable in your lifetime?

You're in the 21st century now, not the Dark Ages. Behave accordingly.

A disconcerting number of people turning up on this thread in defence of an accused serial rapist.

Ought to make the rest of us worry about what sort of dodgy types frequent TV these days.

I think what worries the more level headed is the rush to 'justice', eagerness to assume guilt, premature conviction and villification of the 'accused' by some

If he's shown to be guilty fair enough he should bear the consequences, but he's still just the 'accused' as you yourself point out !

[MESmith]

Fast forward 30 years from now, and former bgs in Thailand start sexual assault proceedings against retired expats here for "gropings in bars".

[uty6543]

OMG. If i admit to the hundreds of offences I may have committed do you think tubby johnson will forgive me

[ravip]

The BBC needs to clean up its act. Yet another filthy rapist. Hope he gets a taste of his own medicine in jail.

Absolutely. The BBC REALLY has to clean up its acts, for sure.

Pity it is in this present state compared to years ago.

If they cannot clean up, better they close up now.

[tubby johnson]

Amid the blithe dismissals of DLS's possible guilt, I pause and ask myself, "Which one of these gentlemen would willingly release their daughter or wife into DLS's room for a 'job interview'?"

[b19bry]

Amid the blithe dismissals of DLS's possible guilt, I pause and ask myself, "Which one of these gentlemen would willingly release their daughter or wife into DLS's room for a 'job interview'?"

Tubby, nobody is blithely dismissing DLT's 'possible' guilt. But so far it's only a 'possible' guilt.

You have already convicted him on the basis of no evidence which is more than a little unfair

[uty6543]

Amid the blithe dismissals of DLS's possible guilt, I pause and ask myself, "Which one of these gentlemen would willingly release their daughter or wife into DLS's room for a 'job interview'?"

I don't know who DLS is but I would let my wife or daughter attend a job interview with DLT in an appropriate place for a job interview.

[tubby johnson]

"in an appropriate place" ......... lambs to the slaughter.

11 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault over a 30-year period from 1977. The allegations relate to eight women aged between 18 and 29 at the time and a girl of 15.

...... And Jimmy Saville was innocent too.

[evadgib]

Be Honest Tubbs, You were on the losing team @ radio darts in the local pub therefore you're ready to douse DLT in the village duckingstool:)

[pacovl46]

How are they gonna prove it now? They would need medical certificates that say they showed signs consistent with injuries commonly sustained when being raped and they would need DNA proof or video footage, which seems highly unlikely since the last case went down in 2007. They should've gone to the police right after it happened, if it happened that is.

[balo]

He did nothing wrong, if he did anything he probably had sex with some of the women at that time . No big deal really .

But after Jimmy Seville , it seems like an explosion of victims that suddenly claims they have been raped. Maybe they were all 'high' on something back then , who knows but my guess is that they maybe were having sex but they were not forced into it

[Exsexyman]

The BBC needs to clean up its act. Yet another filthy rapist. Hope he gets a taste of his own medicine in jail.

Absolutely. The BBC REALLY has to clean up its acts, for sure.

Pity it is in this present state compared to years ago.

If they cannot clean up, better they close up now.

Is he accused of rape, didn't see that on the charge sheet? Not that sexual assault is in anyway defensible if he is found guilty, but there is a difference.

Very fashionable to pillory the BBC i know, but the current accusations go back the best part of 40 years ago, in one case even longer, so your argument about the present state compared to years ago doesn't really hold water. Many of the current investigations in the UK concerning child sexual abuse are focused on hospitals and children's homes. Presumably you think hospitals and children's homes should be closed down as well!

BTW tubby, who is DLS? Perhaps the steam coming out of your ears is clouding your view of your keyboard!

[b19bry]

"in an appropriate place" ......... lambs to the slaughter.

11 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault over a 30-year period from 1977. The allegations relate to eight women aged between 18 and 29 at the time and a girl of 15.

...... And Jimmy Saville was innocent too.

And in a period of 30 years how many 'groupie' follower's might have thrown themselves at this guy and now be in a position to make allegations ?

Slightly more than 8 I'd guess

[7by7]

The BBC needs to clean up its act. Yet another filthy rapist. Hope he gets a taste of his own medicine in jail.

Can't help feeling that the 'sins' of 20, 30 and 40 years ago are being judged by the political correctness of today.

That doesn't mean that I condone the alleged sexual misconduct but I think that looking at events in the context of the time is important.

Values and attitudes do change over time and things that were 'acceptable' in a previous generation are not anymore.

Society has changed its attitude to a lot of things in 30 years and perhaps DLT has too, but his alleged sins of the past are going to be judged by the values of today.

Not saying what's right or wrong, just making an observation.

When was sexual assault ever acceptable in your lifetime?

You're in the 21st century now, not the Dark Ages. Behave accordingly.

Even in the so called Dark Ages English law was based upon the principle of "Innocent until proven guilty."

[ravip]

The BBC needs to clean up its act. Yet another filthy rapist. Hope he gets a taste of his own medicine in jail.

Absolutely. The BBC REALLY has to clean up its acts, for sure.

Pity it is in this present state compared to years ago.

If they cannot clean up, better they close up now.

Is he accused of rape, didn't see that on the charge sheet? Not that sexual assault is in anyway defensible if he is found guilty, but there is a difference.

Very fashionable to pillory the BBC i know, but the current accusations go back the best part of 40 years ago, in one case even longer, so your argument about the present state compared to years ago doesn't really hold water. Many of the current investigations in the UK concerning child sexual abuse are focused on hospitals and children's homes. Presumably you think hospitals and children's homes should be closed down as well!

BTW tubby, who is DLS? Perhaps the steam coming out of your ears is clouding your view of your keyboard!

"Presumably you think hospitals and children's homes should be closed down as well!"

On second thoughts, no - just ignore all this and concentrate on the vile on the other side of the world.