15 months: BBC Stuart Hall goes to jail for child sex crimes

Hall, 83, had initially issued an impassioned public denial of any wrongdoing before he finally admitted his guilt at Preston Crown Court in April.

The disgraced former It’s A Knockout presenter was labelled an “opportunistic predator” of his victims, who he targeted between 1967 and 1987.

Sentencing him, the Recorder of Preston, Judge Anthony Russell QC, said Hall was known to the public for his “genial personality” but there was “a darker side” to him.

He said “those who admired you for these qualities and 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.”

The judge criticised Hall for his initial public denial of wrongdoing when he labelled the claims as “crude, pernicious and spurious”.

The judge said: “Instead of maintaining a dignified silence or stating that you would make no comment, you chose to make a public statement to the effect that the allegations were false, describing them as ‘spurious and pernicious’ as was widely reported.

“Although your guilty pleas have meant that your victims have not had to give evidence and relive their experiences in a court hearing, and they now know this, your earlier observations about their complaints, which you now accept were neither spurious nor pernicious, will have distressed them all, and it is clear from the victim statements that I have seen that your brazen attitude when first charged and the public protests of your innocence have added to the distress of some if not all of your victims.”

When initially arrested last December, Hall told police his victims were all lying as part of a “vendetta going on against people in the public eye”.

But the publicity led to more women coming forward.

At points during the hearing Hall, wearing a dark suit, shirt and striped tie, appeared wounded by what he was hearing in evidence. For long periods of time he was leaning back with his eyes closed.

On hearing something which appeared to shock him he would lean forward and shake his head.

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

Hall wore headphones around his neck but only put them on his head when his defence barrister Crispin Aylett QC outlined the mitigation on his behalf

Mr Aylett criticised some media reports about the case since Hall pleaded guilty and asked the judge to carry out the sentencing with a degree of proportion.

He said: “My task this morning is to apologise for what the defendant has done and to ask for the mercy of the court.

“It is not my intention to pick a fight with all of those who have put pen to paper on the subject of the life and times of Stuart Hall.”

Mr Aylett said his client had been arrested “as a consequence” of the investigations into Jimmy Savile, “who used young girls on a scale that is simply staggering”.

He referred to the 1,300 complainants in that case and said: “Instead, 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 27 years had passed since the last offence and that Hall had led an “unblemished life” over those years, doing charity work and with the support of his loving family.

The barrister said the defendant had pleaded guilty and that there was “very little evidence” of sexual arousal on the part of the defendant.

The BBC said in a statement issued after sentencing: “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.

“Dame Linda Dobbs is leading a detailed investigation into Hall’s conduct at the BBC and her conclusions will be published as part of the Dame Janet Smith Review later this year.”

Dame Janet is carrying out a review of Jimmy Savile’s actions while employed by the BBC.

Sentencing Hall, Judge Russell said: “Many years have elapsed since these crimes were committed but that is no mitigation for the crimes themselves.

“The crimes should of course never have been committed because nearly every victim was a child at the time and unwanted sexual advances even for an adult are distressing for the victim but when they are directed towards a child who is unable to repel the attentions of an adult, an important barrier is crossed.

“As is clear from the victim personal statements, which I have read with care, many of your victims have lived with the shame and embarrassment resulting from your assaults, not sure how to cope with the effect of what were for these girls extremely unpleasant and distressing events - suffering what amounts in some cases to significant psychological trauma.

“I pay tribute to the victims who have come forward - it is by no means an easy thing to do.”

Hall showed no emotion as he was led from the dock to begin his sentence.

He was given sentences ranging from three months to 15 months, all to run concurrently.

Judge Russell said Hall would have received 20 months after a trial but he reduced the sentence to reflect his guilty pleas.

He said he had read character references from “people well known to the court” which referred to the “positively good aspects of your character”.

“I have read all those references with care and it is very sad to see someone who is so well-regarded in the dock of this courtroom,” he said.

Judge Russell concluded: “This is by no means the worst example of sexual abuse of children to come before the court but, notwithstanding the mitigation, I have come to the conclusion that taken together these offences do call for a sentence of imprisonment which must be served immediately.

“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 and it must be made clear to anyone tempted to take advantage of young children and other vulnerable victims that they face condemnation and punishment.”

Hall, of Prestbury Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, exploited his BBC connections to abuse several of his victims, the court heard.

He met one 16-year-old girl after she sang at a school awards evening where he had been invited to hand out prizes.

Hall asked her to write to him at the BBC and mentioned trying to get her a recording session, said Mr Wright.

It led to her attending the corporation’s studios in Piccadilly, Manchester.

Afterwards he took her to a pub where he bought her a vodka and lime and then drove her home where he put his hand up her skirt.

A 17-year-old girl was targeted when she took part in an edition of It’s A Knockout and dressed in medieval costume.

After the programme she was approached by Hall in a hotel and was grabbed forcefully with both hands and pushed against a door.

Hall kissed her on the mouth and fumbled with her dress before she fought him off.

Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said a 15-year-old girl came into contact with the defendant in his role as presenter of BBC North West Tonight.

She responded to a campaign the station was running and was visited by the programme makers at her home.

When the TV crew left, Hall was alone with his victim and began to kiss her and put his tongue in her mouth.

Taken aback by his actions and confused, she did though go on to attend the BBC studios on a number of occasions as part of the show’s campaign.

She was indecently assaulted again when she used Hall’s dressing room to change clothes.

She was in her underwear when Hall sat down on a settee with his arm around her and asked if he could use a battery-powered massager on her private parts.

Finally, a 10-year-old girl was assaulted after she met Hall with her family while he was filming an edition of It’s A Knockout and Hall had given them tickets.

That led to her being invited to Hall’s home in Wilmslow to swim in his outdoor pool.

Hall went on to give her an It’s A Knockout t-shirt to wear once she had got out of her wet swimsuit before he went on to fondle her, said Mr Wright.

The Attorney General is to look at Hall’s sentence after his office received a number of complaints that it was too low, his office confirmed.

Only one person needs to request a sentence is reviewed to trigger the process, which only applies to certain types of case such as murder, rape and child sex crimes.

Following sentencing, Detective Superintendent Neil Esseen, of Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: “I welcome today’s sentence imposed by the court and I hope that it will help the victims in this case move forward with their lives.

“I would like once again to commend the victims in this case for having the courage to come forward. They have lived with what happened for a long period of time and it cannot have been easy for them to come forward, especially as when they did so, they did not know there were others who had also suffered abuse.

“We are committed to investigating any allegations of sexually abuse thoroughly and with sensitivity, no matter how long ago they happened and we will always strive to protect our communities, no matter the status of the alleged perpetrator.

“I would encourage people with any information about sexual abuse or who has been a victim of sexual abuse to come forward and report their concerns confident in the knowledge it will be taken seriously and investigated appropriately and with sensitivity.”

Alan Collins, from law firm Pannone, which is representing 15 complainants against Hall - including some of the victims who attended court today - said: “(This is) a strong and uncompromising message that abusers will not escape justice no matter how long ago the offences took place or how old the abusers are now.”

Commenting on behalf of his clients, he added: “I have spoken to a number of them already and they all feel vindicated that their allegations of abuse have been proven by Hall’s admission of guilt.

“He had previously denied allegations and accused his victims of lying. This was hurtful, distressing and insulting for them.

“We should remember that the youngest of this man’s victims was just nine years old and a custodial sentence is no more than he deserves.

“We will now be advising our clients as to further legal action in the civil courts.”