Jonathan King jailed for child sex abuse
· Star used celebrity to exploit boys
· King sentenced to seven years
· Pop mogul to appeal
- guardian.co.uk,
- Wednesday November 21 2001 15:19 GMT
- Article history
Jonathan King
Judge David Paget told a pale and shaken King that he had used his position in the pop world to seduce young boys.
Judge Paget said: "This was a serious breach of trust. You used your fame and success to attract adolescent and impressionable boys. "You then abused the trust they and their parents placed in you."
King, of Queensborough studios, Bayswater, central London, had been convicted of six offences of indecent assault, buggery and attempted buggery against five youths aged 14 to 16 between 1983 and 1989.
The Old Bailey, in London, had been told how 56-year-old King had lured the boys to his central London home where he seduced them with sexy pictures of girls.
The court heard he would often pick up boys when they were on holiday or day trips to London, and would sometimes take them home in his brown Rolls-Royce.
King had been convicted of the six offences in September of this year but the trial could not be reported until today because he had faced three other trials for similar offences.
Today, however, following a meeting between lawyers and police, the court was told that it had been decided that the prosecution would not proceed with the other cases, and reporting restrictions were lifted.
The second trial alleging he committed serious sexual offences against two boys in the 1970s collapsed yesterday. The prosecution offered no evidence after one of the victims said he could have been 16 at the time. If he was over 16 the prosecution would need to prove that he did not consent to the sexual acts.
King's defence counsel said today he would be appealing against conviction.
He had been questioned about assaults on boys over four decades from the 1960s to the 1990s.
The complainants contacted police after news reports that King was arrested in November last year.
The Cambridge-educated singer, producer and television personality, whose show business career spans 36 years, was remanded to Belmarsh prison, south-east London, following the convictions on September 27.
He had denied all the charges, but at the end of a three-week trial, a jury of four women and seven men convicted him of four charges of indecent assault, one of buggery and one of attempted buggery.
The court was told that all but two of the victims had been assaulted on more than one occasion.
The five complainants, now aged mainly in their early 30s, said in their evidence that they trusted King because he was famous.
King was charged under his real name of Kenneth King. His brother Andrew and agent Chris Poole were in court to see him convicted.
Celebrities, including lyricist Sir Tim Rice, gave evidence to his character in court, though none was aware of the details of the allegations against him.
That was confined to what the "secret world" in which King seduced boys after gaining the confidence of their families.
David Jeremy, prosecuting, told the jury that King had carved out a successful career as a pop singer, record producer, radio and television presenter and journalist.
"Through his own efforts and talents, he has achieved fame and a degree of fortune which often accompanies fame," he said.
But King also had a "secret world" in which he manipulated and deceived, and thought he was "invulnerable" because no one would believe the youngsters.
Mr Jeremy said King met the boys around London, invited them to his home, and assaulted them after showing them sexy pictures and films.
After the assaults, he gave them presents such as records and T-shirts. "What he really gave them was his company, the company and interest of a celebrity. It is not hard to imagine how these young men would have felt flattered and excited by the attention of such a person," said Mr Jeremy
Mr Jeremy said King would have been in his late 30s or early 40s. Some of the young male victims were subjected to one-off assaults, but other suffered several assaults over a period of time.
The victims did not know each other, and were from different parts of the country.
Mr Jeremy said that when King was arrested in November last year, some of the photographs he has used as seduction aids were found in his home. He had also kept photographs of some of the boys.
King admitted the boys had been to his home but said there had been no sexual contact. "It's all lies," he said.
He said he spoke to thousands of youngsters about their tastes in music, which allowed him to produce hits such as last year's Who Let The Dogs Out.
But the prosecution said King's "market research" provided him with a cover for his the real reason why he wanted to befriend young men from modest backgrounds.
King had a top 10 hit with Everyone's Gone to the Moon in 1965 before completing his MA in English Literature at Cambridge.
He went on to run Decca records and his own record company UK Records. He was involved in producing records for or founding the Bay City Rollers, Genesis and 10cc.
King has also presented the BBC television programme Entertainment USA in the 1980s, stood twice for parliament as an independent, and has published several books.
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