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| Stuart Hall admits to sexual abuse of girls | Stuart Hall admits to sexual abuse of girls |
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| Stuart Hall, the veteran BBC broadcaster, has been described as an "opportunistic predator" by the Crown Prosecution Service after he admitted a string of historic sex offences against girls. | |
| Three months after dismissing the allegations against him as "pernicious, callous, cruel and above all spurious", the 83-year-old was forced to admit that his victims had been telling the truth. | |
| Hall, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, originally made the admissions at a brief hearing at Preston crown court on 16 April. But they could not be reported because he was still facing trial over an allegation that he raped a 22-year-old woman in 1976. On Thursday it emerged that the rape case had been left to lie on the file, along with three other allegations of indecent assault. | |
| Hall, wearing a dark blue suit and striped tie, stood in the well of the court as Judge Anthony Russell set him free on bail but told him he would pass sentence on 17 June. | |
| Addressing him by his full name of James Stuart Hall, the judge said: "All sentencing options, including custody, will be available to the court. I genuinely have not made up my mind". | |
| Hall was described as an "opportunistic predator" by Nazir Afzal, chief crown prosecutor for north-west England. | |
| Outside the court he said: "We prosecuted Stuart Hall because the evidence of the victims clearly established a pattern of behaviour 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. He can only be described as an opportunistic predator." | |
| He added: "We have this week met with the woman who alleged that she had been raped by Stuart Hall, a charge which he has denied. The welfare of complainants is a top priority for us and we always take their concerns into account. In light of the guilty pleas already entered, the complainant no longer wishes to give evidence on the allegation of rape, and we have concluded that it would not be in the public interest to take steps to make her give evidence in court. As such, we will not be proceeding with this charge. | |
| "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." | |
| Earlier, Peter Wright, QC, prosecuting, said Hall's 13 victims had been aged between nine and 17. They were abused between 1968 and 1986. His attacks on them included digital penetration. | |
| As he left court, Hall was mobbed by the media, but he refused to respond to questions. His solicitor said he would be issuing a statement later. | |
| Crispin Aylett, defending, told the court the broadcaster's most recent offence had taken place in 1986, the first of them in 1968, "almost half a century ago". | |
| Hall was "of otherwise exemplary character", he added, and the investigation had come "as a particularly bitter blow at this stage in his life". | |
| Aylett said most of the offences were "one-off" incidents. "In a number of cases the parents of the complainants were aware at the time of what was said to have taken place, but they took no action apart from the perfectly sensible one of keeping their children away from the defendant. | |
| "The defendant is of course sorry for what he has done. Through me he wants to apologise to his victims. He is not a man easily moved to self-pity, but he is only too aware that his disgrace is complete." | |
| Hall's eccentric delivery had made him a cult figure in British broadcasting for half a century. He was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list of 2012. | Hall's eccentric delivery had made him a cult figure in British broadcasting for half a century. He was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list of 2012. |
| The allegations against him emerged in January, and the father-of-two was subsequently charged with three separate indecent assaults of young girls between 1974 and 1984. | The allegations against him emerged in January, and the father-of-two was subsequently charged with three separate indecent assaults of young girls between 1974 and 1984. |
| He then faced the rape charge and 14 further sexual assaults against 10 girls between 1967 and 1986. | He then faced the rape charge and 14 further sexual assaults against 10 girls between 1967 and 1986. |
| Hall used the occasion of his first appearance at Preston crown court to make an emotional plea of innocence – and to question why the allegations had taken so long to surface. | Hall used the occasion of his first appearance at Preston crown court to make an emotional plea of innocence – and to question why the allegations had taken so long to surface. |
| Standing beside his then lawyer, the one-time It's A Knockout presenter said: "The last two months of my life have been a living nightmare. | Standing beside his then lawyer, the one-time It's A Knockout presenter said: "The last two months of my life have been a living nightmare. |
| "I have never gone through so much stress in my life and I am finding it difficult to sustain." | "I have never gone through so much stress in my life and I am finding it difficult to sustain." |
| He complained of a heart complaint and said he would be "very lucky to survive another couple of years". | He complained of a heart complaint and said he would be "very lucky to survive another couple of years". |
| Hall went on to say he hoped he survived those two years so he could "regain my honour and reputation and, more than ever, my life". | Hall went on to say he hoped he survived those two years so he could "regain my honour and reputation and, more than ever, my life". |
| "Fortunately I have a very loving family and they are very supportive. I think but for their love I might have been constrained to take my own life. | "Fortunately I have a very loving family and they are very supportive. I think but for their love I might have been constrained to take my own life. |
| "They have encouraged me to fight on, to fight the charges and regain my reputation and good name and whatever I have represented to this country down the years." | "They have encouraged me to fight on, to fight the charges and regain my reputation and good name and whatever I have represented to this country down the years." |
| Hall's then lawyer, Louise Straw, had previously described him as the victim of a "clear pursuit of celebrity". | Hall's then lawyer, Louise Straw, had previously described him as the victim of a "clear pursuit of celebrity". |
| The broadcaster is married to Hazel, 74, and the couple have two children, Francesca, 52, and Daniel, 50. | The broadcaster is married to Hazel, 74, and the couple have two children, Francesca, 52, and Daniel, 50. |
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