Stuart Hall found guilty of indecent assault but cleared of rape

Veteran British broadcaster Stuart Hall was cleared today of raping two young girls but he was convicted of one count of indecent assault.

A jury at Preston Crown Court found Hall (84) not guilty of a string of historical allegations involving two under-age girls, dating back to the mid-1970s.

He is currently serving a 30-month jail term after he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting 13 other young girls, one as young as nine, over a period of nearly 20 years.

At the beginning of his trial last week he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting one of the new complainants when she was aged 13.

But he was cleared of 15 counts of rape and four of indecent assault today by the jury which convicted him of just one count of indecent assault.

Hall made no reaction as he was convicted of one indecent assault but cleared of 15 rapes and four other indecent assaults by a jury of eight women and four men following seven hours and 15 minutes of deliberations.

At the start of the trial he had pleaded guilty to one other count of indecent assault.

The former BBC broadcaster mouthed ‘Thank you’ to the jury at Preston Crown Court at the end of the two-week trial as he was led away to the cells to continue serving his sentence for earlier offences.

Stuart Hall’s broadcasting career made him a household name, giving him fame and fortune as an established sports radio reporter, TV news anchor and star of madcap gameshow It’s A Knockout.

PA