Ex-BBC DJ Dave Lee Travis charged with indecent assaults

Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis has been charged with 11 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault against alleged victims aged between 15 and 29.

The 68-year-old, whose real name is David Patrick Griffin, is accused of committing the offences between 1977 and 2007, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The presenter has in the past been hailed by Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi for entertaining her over the airwaves during her years in captivity.

Travis, once one of the best known DJs in Britain, is the latest celebrity to be accused of sex offences since detectives launched a massive inquiry into the late BBC TV host Jimmy Savile.

The inquiry has led to the arrests of a number of household British TV and radio names from that time, although most, like Travis, were not said to be directly involved in Savile’s offences, which spanned six decades from 1955.

After he was arrested in March this year, Travis, who most recently was working for Magic AM radio station, said he strongly denied all the accusations against him and said his reputation had been “tarnished and dragged through the mud“.

Nicknamed the “Hairy Cornflake“ for his bushy beard, Travis said last year he was astonished to learn that Suu Kyi had been a big fan of his weekly show on the BBC World Service during her 15 years under house arrest between 1989 and 2010.

She singled out his music request programme A Jolly Good Show for making her world “much more complete”.

Travis is to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates Court on August 23rd next.

Chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, Alison Saunders, said: "We have carefully considered the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police Service as part of Operation Yewtree in relation to David Patrick Griffin, who was initially arrested on November 15, 2012, over allegations of sexual offences.

“Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Griffin to be charged with 11 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault.

“These date from 1977 to 2007 and relate to nine complainants aged between 15 and 29 at the time of the alleged offending.”

She said no further action would be taken in relation to seven separate allegations against Mr Griffin, “as we determined that there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction”.

“May I remind all concerned that Mr Griffin has a right to a fair trial. It is very important that nothing is said, or reported, which could prejudice that trial. For these reasons, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.”

PA/Reuters