The New York Daily news
written by Reuters
Thursday October 25, 2012
Some 300 victims have come forward in a sex abuse scandal involving one of the BBC’s most celebrated TV stars, British police said as they investigated and prepared to make arrests.
Detectives said they were staggered by the number of people who contacted them since the late Jimmy Savile’s crimes were first revealed just over three weeks ago.
The head of the BBC’s governing body called the allegations a “tsunami of filth,” and police said Savile was “undoubtedly” one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders ever.
“It’s quite staggering,” said the police inquiry leader, Commander Peter Spindler.
After interviewing 130 of the alleged victims, officers recorded 114 reports of sexual assault or serious sexual assault, mostly against Savile, the outlandish, cigar-chomping DJ turned TV host who was one of the BBC’s top presenters of the 1970s and 1980s.
Savile, knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his charity work and famous for his garish outfits and long blonde hair, was a household name in Britain but little known beyond its shore.
The allegations, which first emerged in an expose on the rival British TV channel ITV, have rocked the BBC. Its chief, George Entwistle, admitted the broadcaster has been damaged by the scandal.
The revelations have generated attention in the U.S., where Entwistle’s predecessor, Mark Thompson, is poised to take over as chief executive of the New York Times.
On Wednesday, lawyers representing some 30 alleged victims of abuse told Reuters their clients said other celebrities were involved, while some of those abused by Savile told the media they were targeted on BBC premises.
“We are preparing an arrest strategy now,” Spindler told reporters, adding he could not identify who their suspects were or whether they also had worked for the BBC. “We do have a number of other people that we can investigate.”
Entwistle, who only took over the most prestigious role in British media in September, appeared before a parliamentary commission this week to explain why the BBC had dropped its own investigation shortly after Savile died last year.
His performance in parliament was described as “lamentable” by one lawmaker, and his overall handling of one of the worst crises in the BBC’s 90-year history has been widely condemned.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the BBC, paid for by an annual tax on all households with a color TV, had serious questions to answer.
No comments:
Post a Comment