Stuart Hall admits 14 charges of indecent assault involving 13 victims
British presenter Stuart Hall has admitted 14 charges of indecent assault involving 13 victims including one as young as nine.
James Stuart Hall, 83, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to the offences, involving 13 victims, which occurred between 1967 and 1985.
A further three charges of indecent assault and one of rape have been left to lie on the court file.
Stuart Hall has been bailed until sentencing on June 17. His lawyer said the presenter wished to apologize to his victims.
Stuart Hall has admitted 14 charges of indecent assault involving 13 victims including one as young as nine
Crispin Aylett QC added: “He is not a man easily moved to self pity but he is all too aware that his disgrace is complete.”
Stuart Hall admitted the offences last month but they could not be revealed due to reporting restrictions.
Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West, Nazir Afzal, described Stuart Hall as an “opportunistic predator”.
The prosecutor added: “We prosecuted Stuart Hall because the evidence of the victims clearly established a pattern of behavior that was unlawful and for which no innocent explanation could be offered.
“His victims did not know each other and almost two decades separated the first and last assaults but almost all of the victims, including one who was only nine at the time of the assault, provided strikingly similar accounts.
“Whether in public or private, Hall would first approach under friendly pretences and then bide his time until the victim was isolated.
“I would like to thank the victims for having had the bravery to come forward. This case clearly shows that the victims of abuse will not be denied justice by the passage of time and abusers will be held to account.”
Nazir Afzal said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) would not be proceeding with the rape charge as the woman who made the allegation no longer wished to give evidence in light of the guilty pleas.
The court heard in the 1980s Stuart Hall molested a 9-year-old girl by putting his hand up her clothing.
The presenter also kissed a 13-year-old girl on the lips after he said to her: “People need to show thanks in other ways.”
On another occasion in the 1970s he fondled the breast of a girl aged 16 or 17, the court was told.
Stuart Hall was initially arrested in December and made a statement labeling the claims “pernicious, callous, cruel and above all spurious”.
He has been a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting for half a century, and was awarded an OBE in the 2012 New Year Honours.
Stuart Hall was It’s A Knockout presenter and was working as a football commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live and wrote a weekly sport column for the Radio Times magazine until his arrest.
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