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Dave Lee Travis used fame to target vulnerable young women, court told Dave Lee Travis used fame to target vulnerable young women, court told
(about 1 hour later)
Dave Lee Travis is an "opportunist" who used his fame to target and sexually assault vulnerable young women, a jury has heard.Dave Lee Travis is an "opportunist" who used his fame to target and sexually assault vulnerable young women, a jury has heard.
The former BBC Radio 1 DJ, who is being tried under his real name, David Patrick Griffin, is accused of indecently assaulting 11 young women over three decades at the height of his fame.The former BBC Radio 1 DJ, who is being tried under his real name, David Patrick Griffin, is accused of indecently assaulting 11 young women over three decades at the height of his fame.
Opening the prosecution case against Travis at Southwark crown court on Tuesday, Miranda Moore QC told jurors that all the allegations against the former broadcaster "are of a sexual nature and involve unwanted contact … Both over clothing and under clothing".Opening the prosecution case against Travis at Southwark crown court on Tuesday, Miranda Moore QC told jurors that all the allegations against the former broadcaster "are of a sexual nature and involve unwanted contact … Both over clothing and under clothing".
Travis has a record of targeting "young women who are vulnerable and he's an opportunist who tales the opportunity when it presents itself to him", Moore told the jury.Travis has a record of targeting "young women who are vulnerable and he's an opportunist who tales the opportunity when it presents itself to him", Moore told the jury.
Travis is charged with 13 counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault, relating to 10 women and a 15-year-old girl, between January 1976 and November 2008.Travis is charged with 13 counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault, relating to 10 women and a 15-year-old girl, between January 1976 and November 2008.
Travis is accused of putting his hand up the skirt and attempting to grab the bottom of a 19-year-old woman on Top of the Pops as he introduced the Smurfs on stage in June 1978.
The jury saw an edited clip of the moment when it is alleged Travis attempted to put his hand inside her knickers as it was broadcast to the nation. "What she's saying is she was assaulted effectively live on Top of the Pops," said Moore.
Another incident took place in Travis's dressing room as he appeared in a pantomime in Crawley in 1991, the court heard, when the DJ pinned a women up against the door before shoving his hand down her jogging bottoms.
The assault lasted a matter of seconds, the jury was told, before Travis was interrupted by one of the Chuckle Brothers walking past his dressing room.
Moore, for the crown, said the victim had been told that cast members in the pantomime had been told "they should not be left alone with him and should not be in his dressing room at any time".
The youngest victim was 15 at the time of the alleged attack, at a Showaddywaddy concert on 17 June 1978 where Travis was making a guest appearance. The girl, who Moore described as "very young and very naive", went into the former DJ's trailer where he commented on the size of her breasts.
"I love big boobs," Travis allegedly said, before flicking her nipples and removing her top. He then pinned her to her seat and began to kiss her on the lips and her breasts, the court heard, before running his hand up her skirt. "She began to scream, she was crying and shouting and in her own words she thought he was going to rape her," Moore told jurors.
The Showaddywaddy lead singer Dave Bartram is due to give evidence later in the trial, the court heard.
Moore said that Travis, who shook his head and tutted as the crown opened its case against him, repeatedly attacked the victims' allegations as fabricated in interviews with the police.
"If you live in a sweet shop you don't eat sweets," Travis told detectives in one interview.
He said it would have been "insane" to grope anyone in a radio studio, when asked by police about allegations that he touched the breasts of a BBC trainee, aged 24 at the time, as she introduced Woman's Hour live on Radio 4.
"He said it's degrading to him, this allegation," Moore said, who then quoted him as telling detectives: "It's impossible to keep a straight face about it."
The court heard that Travis described the claims as being made up by women who wanted to become famous.
The 68-year-old broadcaster, who denies the charges, sat in the dock of the court wearing a beige jacket, blue shirt and colourful tie as he listened to proceedings through a hearing loop.The 68-year-old broadcaster, who denies the charges, sat in the dock of the court wearing a beige jacket, blue shirt and colourful tie as he listened to proceedings through a hearing loop.
Moore told jurors that the case arose out of the Jimmy Savile scandal in October 2012, when a number of police forces received reports from women who alleged they were indecently assaulted by Travis.Moore told jurors that the case arose out of the Jimmy Savile scandal in October 2012, when a number of police forces received reports from women who alleged they were indecently assaulted by Travis.
Travis arrived at court to a media scrum on Tuesday morning, making no comment as he walked past scores of photographers and camera crews penned back behind metal barriers.Travis arrived at court to a media scrum on Tuesday morning, making no comment as he walked past scores of photographers and camera crews penned back behind metal barriers.
A jury of eight women and four men were sworn in before being given strict orders by the judge, Anthony Leonard, not to research the case online or be "intimidated" by the large media presence outside the court building.A jury of eight women and four men were sworn in before being given strict orders by the judge, Anthony Leonard, not to research the case online or be "intimidated" by the large media presence outside the court building.
The trial continues.
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