Savile abuse report finds BBC culture of ‘reverence’ to celebrities

A file photograph dated 18 September 2005 of British veteran disc jockey and television personality, the late Sir Jimmy Saville in London, England. -EPA

LONDON: An inquiry into sexual abuse at the BBC by late British presenter Jimmy Savile published Thursday said a culture of  “reverence” for celebrities had helped him rape and molest victims unhindered for decades.

The report found Savile had abused 72 victims -- both male and female and nearly half aged under 16 -- in studios, dressing rooms, lifts and canteens between the late 1960s and the late 1980s.