Ex-BBC broadcaster Hall admits assault

Former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall is to face a rape trial after he admitted to an indecent assault, but denied 15 alleged rapes.

Former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall has pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a girl but will face trial on 15 counts of rape.

The 84-year-old on Tuesday admitted an indecent assault on a girl aged under 16, between 1978 and 1979.

He denied 20 other counts of sexual assault, including 15 alleged rapes.

A jury was to be selected later on Tuesday at Preston Crown Court in northwest England ahead of a trial on those charges.

Hall presented the hit BBC television show It's a Knockout in the 1970s and 1980s and later became a well-known radio football commentator.

He is charged with eight counts of rape and three indecent assaults against one alleged victim between 1976 and 1981, in Manchester and the neighbouring county of Cheshire in northwest England.

One of those alleged rapes is said to have taken place when the complainant was under 13.

He is also charged with seven counts of rape and two of indecent assault against another complainant, between 1976 and 1978 in Manchester.

Five of the alleged rapes are said to have taken place when she was under the age of 16.

Known for his florid descriptive style, scattered with allusions to literary classics, Hall was until recently a familiar voice on BBC radio commentating on English Premier League football.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world