DJ Dave Lee Travis found guilty of indecent assault

Former BBC Radio 1 DJ, Dave Lee Travis could face the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison after being found guilty of groping a woman working in television nearly 20 years ago.

The British Crown Prosecution Service said the ex-Top Of The Pops presenter could face the sentence following his conviction by a jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court by a majority of 10 to two.

Travis, 69, was found guilty of indecent assault on the woman, who was working on the Mrs Merton Show, on January 17 1995.

He was cleared on a second indecent assault charge, and the jury was discharged after it was unable to agree a verdict on a count of sexual assault.

Travis, who became a household name in the 1970s, faced a retrial after jurors failed to reach verdicts on those two charges earlier this year.

Judge Anthony Leonard QC warned the former radio star that he was looking at “all options” when he considered his sentence.

Travis stared straight ahead with a stony expression and held his hands in front of him as the verdicts were read out.

He glanced over his shoulder to his wife, Marianne, who was sitting at the back of court, before sitting down.

Travis’s victim told the court during the trial that he got a “weird sexual thrill” as he indecently assaulted her.

She said Travis approached her in the corridor of a BBC television studio where she was smoking, and commented on her “poor little lungs”, before he squeezed her breasts.

The woman, who was working as part of the production crew in Manchester, said the assault was “unbelievably weird” and he had an “intense stare” during the incident.

She said she “froze” as she was pinned against the wall by Travis before he let go of her breasts after 10-15 seconds.

The woman, who was in her early 20s at the time, said she did not make an official complaint or contact police at the time because she was young and did not want to “make a fuss”.

She gave evidence without a screen, in view of Travis in the dock. Comedian, Dave Gorman, who was a writer on the show, said he remembered hearing about the incident and that it was “aggressive” — and not a Carry On-style “playful” act.

Sophie Wood, defending, told the court that the “custodial threshold has not been met”.

Judge Leonard told Travis: “You must understand that all my options remain open in relation to sentencing.”