Dave Lee Travis

[sandyRoe]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21772616


Do old sins cast long shadows?

[maggiebee]

Who will be next? DLT was one of my favourite DJs and I'm just so sad about the whole sorry mess.

[hc4361]

Or is some malicious people jumping on the bandwagon when in fact he is entirely innocent of all accusations?

Time will tell.

[emmie]

sometimes, wait and see what comes out of this case...

[andy-hughes]

Innocent until proven guilty is a concept that has been denied to Jimmy Saville thus far - let's hope the living accused are afforded it.

[ChillDoubt]

Have to admit I'm as sceptical as hc4361 and am frankly bored of hearing about allegations of 'groping' of adults some 40 years ago.

That's not to denigrate what is a serious offence, I'm just perplexed that it's taken 3 or 4 decades to decide to make a complaint.

[Zeuhl]

Watch any old Top of the Pops hosted by Savile, DLT or several others

Even before the recent revelations I considered them cringe-worthy and unpleasant to view.

DLT in particular, a hairy great middle aged man leering at, and with his arms around a bunch of 14 year old girls

He may turn out to be innocent of any crimes....

apart that is from being guilty of 'Nauseating Inappropriateness in possession of a Tank Top'

[flump1]

I hold DLT in high regard as I did Jimmy Saville. My problem with speculation is, I was abused as a child and the perpetrator is such a nice guy nobody may have believed me. This is why so many other people did not report these wrongdoings. We do not want to believe people we like are capable of such horrors. I dearly hope DLT is innocent, I fear not though.

[Answerprancer]

When it comes to alleged (or suspected) sex crime in this country, it seems as though (unofficially) the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing is reversed.

[Hopkirk]

Andy, I haven't heard anyone trying to suggest that Jimmy Savile is an innocent maligned man.

[emmie]

i believe there was plenty of evidence against Savile more than 40 years ago. A policeman was interviewed on the news and he said that a young person had made a complaint about Savile back then, the policeman told his superiors and was ignored... as have others... i did work for the corporation many years ago, and heard enough...

[andy-hughes]

Hopkirk - maybe not, but until due process of law, that is in fact exactly what he is.

[naomi24]

What constitutes 'due process of law' where the alleged crimes of a dead man are concerned?

[netibiza]

Oh gawd I hope not cos I have many...............

[ludwig]

// What constitutes 'due process of law' where the alleged crimes of a dead man are concerned? //

Not sure Naomi, but Hitler was never arrested or tried for war crimes. That must make him an innocent maligned man too.

[askyourgran]

I liked DLT. and it feels wrong somehow that people can come forward after all this time and make their accusations without proof of dates and times of the wrongdoings. I'm not saying for one minute that the crime in itself is to be ignored and pushed aside, but there are such a lot of people being pilloried for what may have been a brief pat on the leg or an arm around their shoulder 20-40 years ago. Has anyone (apart from Gary Glitter in Thailand) been found guilty and charged of these alleged offences since this started?

[jackthehat]

AYG - I think they are all awaiting Court dates.

[naomi24]

Ludwig, yes, indeed. I'm still waiting for Andy-Hughes' explanation.

[andy-hughes]

naomi24 - in the absence of a defendant, a suitable Enquiry would be a good place to start - but as yet that has not taken place.

Accusations are just that - accusations, which are not the same as legal proof.

[ludwig]

// in the absence of a defendant, a suitable Enquiry would be a good place to start //

Isn't that what they've been doing for the past year? I can't see what would be added to it by having Savile alive to be honest. Ok there'd be the chance for him to either deny or admit to each of the allegations, but beyond that I can't see what extra information he'd be able to introduce.

What I do find a bit disturbing is the current process of hauling in anyone they can find who was famous in the 70's who they think might have groped someone at some point.

It's as if we're trying to make up for the fact that we let Savile get away with it by going after anyone else who might act as a substitute - 40 years after the event. Oh - and as long as they're famous of course.
If you weren't a DJ and never appeared on TV you're probably ok.