General Chat

There could be between 20 and 25 Victims, mostly girls aged between 13 & 16, how awful !

From BBC News

Police investigating alleged sexual abuse of girls by the late Jimmy Savile are pursuing 120 separate lines of inquiry, a press conference was told.

Scotland Yard detectives said there could be 20 to 25 victims in total.

Commander Peter Spindler, of the Met's specialist crime investigations, said police had recorded eight allegations against Sir Jimmy, including two rapes.

He praised the alleged victims for "shining a light" on the abuse, adding that the allegations spanned 40 years.

Police said it would be a joint inquiry with children's charity, the NSPCC, and it would be named Operation Yewtree.

During the briefing at the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London, police said the allegations against Sir Jimmy spanned four decades and the alleged victims were mainly girls who were aged between 13 and 16 at the time.

Commander Spindler said of the eight criminal allegations, six were alleged indecent assaults on young teenage girls.

He said Sir Jimmy's pattern of offending behaviour was on "a national scale".

The briefing was told that a range of different names had been reported to police, as well as Sir Jimmy's.

Peter Liver, of the NSPCC, said the charity had had 17 calls to its helpline directly related to the allegations.

worms, and can come to mind

Bob

I bet there are a few shaking in their shoes in other organisations too.......not just the BBC. As you say Bob, worms and can!

it sickens me more that people turned a blind eye to his wrong doings with underage girls back in the day.

Their failure to report it has ruined so many more lives.

:-|

I totally agree with you Mildred, but how can Jimmy Salville be made accountable for his actions if he is dead?

Why did not one of these victims escalate their complaints after the initial ones were brushed aside?

I haven't read anything about this so am a bit in the dark. Didn't they tell their parents?

I am confused. I'd have wanted action taken years ago.

Sue

From what I have read and heard, it seems to me that there are more people who have been named who are alive, who were also involved, that can be interviewed and or charged. Although JS can't be prosecuted, perhaps because he is dead, for legal reasons, things can be said that couldn't be when he was alive, if that makes sense.

As for victims not coming forward before JS's death perhaps they did, and perhaps the majority of them were vulnerable people, they didn't have the support to carry on there claim. I was thinking about what I was like when I was 16, and if this had happened to me at work for instance, and you told someone there, but they shrugged it off, and said it didn't matter, would I of been brave enough to have taken it further? Probably not then.

Just read that his massive grave stone is going to be removed..to deter vandals.

Having just seen a pic of it the man's ego is clearly through the roof.

I admire people that do good works for charity...but making a list of them on one's gravestone is a bit OTT for my liking.

As for the abuse accusations...I personally think that those who knew but kept quiet should be hanging their heads in shame.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215116/Jimmy-Savile-sex-abuse-allegations-Police-120-leads-victims-witnesses.html

Innocent until proven guilty when one is alive.

Why have the suddenly increasing number of accusations happened now? Why not when he was alive last year?

AbbA...........???

Abusers choose their victims more carefully than you might realise. Today we call it grooming. Back then, adults and especially those with power were not only respected by others but often being in a position of some authority, were feared too.

As a child, you also don't realise that it isn't happening to others. You think it's you and you alone and probably have some misguided comprehension that you deserved what you got. And if you try to tell, who is someone going to believe? A humble child or some big, important superstar? I've read quite a bit this last week and from reports and interviews, there was a culture of improper behaviour within many organisations - BBC included.

Today, although abuse continues, people are on the look-out for it unlike the seventies. In the sixties too, children didn't have the benefit of people like ChildLine to go to. And you couldn't tell a teacher or anyone else then. Abuse was taboo, hidden, and no one talked about it or wanted to know. Children were more isolated then.

If this gives more victims the courage to come forward and finally be believed I wish them well. You can never get over what was done to you but to be listened to and be believed can make a difference like you would never imagine.

If there are lots of scared people out there, then I hope it's just a matter of time.

And maybe too, those who never took part but chose to look the other way for whatever reason, will have the courage to speak up now. Nothing excuses their failure to act but we are talking about a culture of silence that existed decades ago.

I can understand why the young girls never spoke out, then or since, but what bugs me is the wringing of hands by Esther Rantzen et al who say there always were rumours and gossip... she certainly had enough clout at the BBC (as did her husband) to at least put out that this icon was not 'what he seems' and follow it up, the same with JS Porter, cynic that I am I wonder if their own careers weren't just that bit more important to them than their consciences?

did parents let their 12/13/14 year old be alone with men back then or out at a late hour ? mine certainly would never have allowed it.

were these groupie as they were known......I bet there are many in the pop world that could be brought under fire.

While certainly not sticking up for Esther & Co, if they only heard rumours, but didn't see anything, then how could they do anything, it's different now, but back then there was nobody to go to. Sounds harsh, but things were so different back then.
When I was 16/17 my boss sometimes left me feeling very uneasy, he didn't do anything, just some things he said, which I probably didn't understand, left me feeling cold, others in the office used to say, don't ever be alone with him, I don't know if they had anything happen to them, but nobody ever said anything to anyone senior, why? Because nobody knew who was senior, they were on a floor where us mere mortals never went. Amazing how things have changed.

Kay, some of the girls were in care, and there "carers" let him take the girls out for a ride in his car.

its no diferent now look how the kids hang round the so called celebs nw

It certainly is different now Unknown, if someone is abused, there are places to go, where you will be listened to.

jimmy saviles family have had his head stone removed today :-D

Not only removed but it's going to be destroyed. You have to feel for them but they made the right decision in order to protect the integrity of the burials nearby.

Such a shame in cases like this it is always the family who suffer .