Child sex abuser King refused permission to appeal against sentence

POP mogul Jonathan King’s hopes of being freed from his seven-year jail sentence for sexually abusing boys were dashed yesterday when he was refused permission to appeal.

The Court of Appeal in London rejected argument that King’s convictions on six charges were arguably unsafe and that the sentence was “manifestly too severe.”

Mr Justice Holland said: “The key to this case is the exploitation by the defendant of the trust that 14 and 15-year-old boys placed in him on the basis of his fame and reputation.

“That exploitation of trust makes this matter very serious indeed and justifies a sentence that arguably may be somewhat higher than in some other cases.”

King, 58, the self-styled King of Pop, was jailed by Judge David Paget at the Old Bailey in November 2001.

Cambridge-educated King, who had his first hit with Everyone’s Gone to the Moon in 1965 and produced records for Genesis, had denied buggery, attempted buggery and four indecent assaults between 1983 and 1990.

At around the time of the offences, he was presenting the TV show Entertainment USA and running his own record label, UK Records.

King lured the boys to his mews home in Queensborough Studios, Bayswater, central London, and showed them pornography before assaulting them.

He would sometimes approach youngsters in the West End and give them lifts in his Rolls-Royce.

Three complainants said they met King at the Walton Hop youth disco in Surrey, although police stressed there was no evidence to link him with other suspects.

The recent arrest of TV presenter Matthew Kelly was understood to be part of the same police inquiry, Operation Arundel. King’s barrister, Nigel Sweeney QC, argued yesterday(OK) that Judge Paget failed to direct the jury adequately on how the defence might be prejudiced by the length of time between the alleged offences and the trial.

“These were allegations in relation to a celebrity who had contact with many, many individuals over the years and could not possibly be expected to have recollections of particular individuals,” he said. The situation was made worse by massive pre-trial publicity in the media.

Seeking a reduction in the sentence, Mr Sweeney said King, of previous good character, used no violence, coercion, threats or cruelty. The judge said the court was unable to find that the judge’s directions to the jury on the question of delay were inadequate.

There was no basis for saying the sentence was excessive.