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| Max Clifford guilty of eight indecent assaults | Max Clifford guilty of eight indecent assaults |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Publicist Max Clifford has been found guilty of eight indecent assaults on women and girls as young as 15. | |
| The 71-year-old, from Surrey, was convicted of a string of assaults which happened over nearly 20 years. | The 71-year-old, from Surrey, was convicted of a string of assaults which happened over nearly 20 years. |
| He was cleared of two charges of indecent assault, while the jury at Southwark Crown Court failed to reach a verdict on another charge. | |
| Clifford, who is the first person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree, was bailed and will be sentenced on Friday. | Clifford, who is the first person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree, was bailed and will be sentenced on Friday. |
| Judge Anthony Leonard QC warned him that the fact he was granted bail was no indication of the sentence that would be passed. | Judge Anthony Leonard QC warned him that the fact he was granted bail was no indication of the sentence that would be passed. |
| Speaking outside court, Clifford stood with his daughter Louise in front of photographers but ignored questions from reporters, saying: "I have been told by my lawyers to say nothing at all." | Speaking outside court, Clifford stood with his daughter Louise in front of photographers but ignored questions from reporters, saying: "I have been told by my lawyers to say nothing at all." |
| Clifford was arrested by detectives from Operation Yewtree - the national investigation sparked by abuse claims against Jimmy Savile - in December 2012, and charged in April the following year. | |
| He was arrested under a strand of the investigation which concentrated on accusations unconnected to the Savile investigations, but which emerged as a result of the publicity surrounding the former BBC presenter and DJ. | |
| BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the verdicts were "hugely significant" as the first Yewtree conviction. | |
| One victim said her faith in the justice system had been restored. | |
| During the trial, prosecutors portrayed Clifford as a well-practised manipulator, who promised to boost his victims' careers and get them to meet celebrities in exchange for sexual favours. | |
| The court heard from a string of women who testified about Clifford's behaviour in his New Bond Street office. | The court heard from a string of women who testified about Clifford's behaviour in his New Bond Street office. |
| He offered to get them casting appointments, pretending to be Hollywood bigwigs including Steven Spielberg, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Michael Winner on the phone. | He offered to get them casting appointments, pretending to be Hollywood bigwigs including Steven Spielberg, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Michael Winner on the phone. |
| Victims included a dancer who received a phone call while she was at a nightclub from someone pretending to represent producer Broccoli, and was told to find out whether Clifford was circumcised. | Victims included a dancer who received a phone call while she was at a nightclub from someone pretending to represent producer Broccoli, and was told to find out whether Clifford was circumcised. |
| She then "froze" and realised she was "stuck", and feared she would be raped when Clifford took her into the toilet and assaulted her. | She then "froze" and realised she was "stuck", and feared she would be raped when Clifford took her into the toilet and assaulted her. |
| Another girl, a teenage model, said Clifford groped her when she went to his office for career advice in 1983, bragging that he could get her a part in a James Bond film. | Another girl, a teenage model, said Clifford groped her when she went to his office for career advice in 1983, bragging that he could get her a part in a James Bond film. |
| The jury found Clifford guilty of four counts of indecently assaulting one victim, who was abused from the age of 15 after she met him while on holiday with her family in Spain. | The jury found Clifford guilty of four counts of indecently assaulting one victim, who was abused from the age of 15 after she met him while on holiday with her family in Spain. |
| She said she was "blown away" when he told her she "could be the UK version" of Jodie Foster, and felt unable to say no when he asked her to take off her top and bra. | She said she was "blown away" when he told her she "could be the UK version" of Jodie Foster, and felt unable to say no when he asked her to take off her top and bra. |
| He later forced her to perform oral sex on him and indecently assaulted her. | He later forced her to perform oral sex on him and indecently assaulted her. |
| Decades later, the victim wrote Clifford an anonymous letter, which was found in his bedside table when his home was searched by police. | Decades later, the victim wrote Clifford an anonymous letter, which was found in his bedside table when his home was searched by police. |
| In the letter she told Clifford he "took pleasure in degrading me", giving him an "A+ in grooming children". | In the letter she told Clifford he "took pleasure in degrading me", giving him an "A+ in grooming children". |
| Speaking to the BBC after his conviction, she said her faith in the justice system had been restored. | Speaking to the BBC after his conviction, she said her faith in the justice system had been restored. |
| "I can't thank the police and the CPS enough for their endeavours to get justice for me and everyone else", she said. | "I can't thank the police and the CPS enough for their endeavours to get justice for me and everyone else", she said. |
| Victims' 'courage' | |
| Speaking outside court, Jenny Hopkins, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said the verdicts had provided "a long-denied justice" to the victims. | |
| She said the CPS would now take some time to consider its position on the verdict the jury was unable to come to a decision on. | |
| "I would like to thank these victims for having had the courage to come forward and give evidence. | |
| "The victims of sexual abuse, whenever it may have taken place, should know that police and prosecutors will listen", she said. | |
| Peter Watt, director of National Services at the NSPCC, said Clifford had been "unmasked as a ruthless and manipulative sex offender who preyed for decades on children and young women". | |
| "Clifford was a rich and influential man who dined with the stars but the way he manipulated and groomed his victims is typical of many sex offenders. | |
| "He exploited their vulnerabilities, using lies and coercion to get what he wanted," he said. |