TV veteran Hall jailed for sex attacks on young girls
Sentencing him at Preston Crown Court, the Recorder of Preston Judge Anthony Russell QC said the public now knew there was “a darker side” to Hall which had been “hidden from view”.
But the length of the jail term was criticised as “unduly lenient” by shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, who urged Attorney General Dominic Grieve to look at the matter.
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Hide AdDeputy Labour leader Harriet Harman tweeted: “18 yrs offending & Stuart hall gets less than 18 months.
“Unduly Lenient Sentence. Attorney General must refer sentence to Court of Appeal.”
Lawyers for some of the victims welcomed the sentence as a “strong and uncompromising message that abusers would not escape justice no matter how long ago the offences took place”.
The former It’s A Knockout presenter and Radio 5 Live football match summariser pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault in April.
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Hide AdBut he had earlier made a public pronouncement on the steps of a court, describing all the claims against him as “cruel, pernicious and spurious”.
Judge Russell condemned Hall for not to maintaining a “dignified silence” and said he added to the suffering of his victims. “It is clear from the victim statements that I have seen that your brazen attitude when first charged, and the public protests of your innocence, have added to the distress of some if not all of your victims,” he said.
Hall, of Prestbury Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, was arrested and subsequently charged in December with indecently assaulting three young girls.
More women came forward as a result of publicity and Hall was rearrested before he later admitted sexual offences which took place from 1967 to 1987.
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Hide AdAfter his first arrest, Hall told police the complainants were all lying as part of “a vendetta going on against people in the public eye”, said prosecutor Peter Wright QC.
Hall’s barrister, Crispin Aylett QC, said his client had been arrested as a consequence of the investigations into Jimmy Savile.
He referred to the 1,300 complainants in that case and said: “Instead, in the dock today is a frightened and bewildered 83-year-old man answering for the touching – no more, no less – of all of 13, not 1,300, victims over a quarter of a century ago.”
With the exception of two of the complainants, all the victims under 16 had told an adult and none of them had contacted police or taken it up with the defendant.
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Hide AdMr Aylett said it did “reflect on the minor nature of the abuse” – with the one exception of a 13-year-old girl Hall attacked in a bathroom, which he conceded was a more serious assault.
Judge Russell told Hall: “Several of these cases reveal an abuse of the trust placed in you by the parents of these children but all of them reveal an abuse of power by you because your status gave you an influence and standing which you abused.”
At points during the hearing, Hall appeared wounded by what he was hearing in evidence. Said to be in poor health, he showed no emotion as he was led away.
He was given sentences ranging from three months to 15 months, all to run concurrently. Hall was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £11,522.