Veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall has admitted 14 sexual offences against young girls.
Stuart Hall, 83, of Prestbury Road, Wilmslow pleaded guilty to the offences of indecent assault when he appeared at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday, April 16th but reporting restrictions mean this can only be reported from today (Thursday, May 2nd).
Hall was arrested on December 5th last year and charged with three offences of indecent assault. These offences were committed between 1974 and 1984 and involved three girls aged between 9 and 17 years.
He was subsequently arrested a second time on January 22nd and also charged with one offence of rape and 14 offences of indecent assault. These indecent assault offences were committed between 1967/68 and 1986 and involved 10 girls aged between 9 and 17 years.
Hall initially denied all the offences but has now pleaded guilty to all of the indecent assault charges (four of the charges were rolled into one indictment, hence the discrepancy between charges and guilty pleas).
He denied the offence of rape against a 22 year old woman. It has been decided that this will not be proceeded with and has been left to lie on file. Hall will be sentenced on June 17th.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Esseen, of Lancashire Constabulary's Force Major Investigation Team, said: "The admissions of Mr Hall will at least spare his victims the ordeal of having to recount their abuse at a trial. They have lived with what happened for a long period of time and it cannot have been easy for them to come forward, especially as when they did so, they did not know there were others who had also suffered abuse. I would personally like to pay tribute to the victims for their bravery in coming forward to report these crimes.
"The fact that these convictions have come a long time after they were committed shows that we will always take any allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and will investigate them thoroughly no matter how long ago they happened. We will always strive to protect our communities, no matter the status of the alleged perpetrator.
"I would encourage people with any information about sexual abuse or who has been a victim of sexual abuse to come forward and report their concerns confident in the knowledge it will be investigated appropriately and with sensitivity."
Stuart Hall, who has lived in Wilmslow for over 30 years, was appointed OBE for his services to broadcasting and charity in the 2012 New Year Honours list.
He became particularly well-known as the presenter of It's a Knockout in the 1970s and early 80s and sports reporter for BBC Radio 5 Live.
