BBC Presenter and yet more allegations

[friendlycat]

It would appear that the front page of tomorrow’s The Sun has further allegations about messages with a new 17 year old. Creepy hearts etc

Scrolling through Sky news and seeing front pages of the papers. This appears bottom right on The Sun front page.

Something will have to be said publicly soon. It's becoming ridiculous.

Actually I think this IS a thing.

This person has an obvious penchant for young men, some seem to be under the age of consent, whilst masquerading as a religious family man with wife and children. We each pay a large amount a year for the BBC and yes I’d like these overpaid ‘stars’ to not be sex pests on the side.

Whether the law has been broken or not, this man has clearly brought his employer into disrepute by his seedy actions.

He should be investigated and disciplined accordingly. If everything is true, he should be sacked.

I understand an awful lot more than you do about such matters so please don't be patronising. Not one person coming forward has suggested that there has been any sexual offence/abuse. Not one person has suggested that anything criminal has happened. They are literally non-stories motivated by the publicity machine. Not even the Sun has said anything criminal took place - they are being very careful with their language to not make any allegation of sexual offences.

I do not conflate mob hysteria with facts, so do not make assumptions and then suggest that there is something wrong with my morals or judgements. You know nothing about me. Having a go at me for pointing out what is blindingly obvious - that not one allegation to date has suggested a sexual offence has taken place - and then actually agreeing with me anyway is ridiculous. People do "jump on gravy trains" and it happens all the time. It is naive to think otherwise. And until someone with the authority to confirm otherwise, having undertaken a proper investigation of the facts, states that a criminal offence or a sexual offence has taken place, this remains all about morality not criminality. Otherwise this is all just nasty gossip taking advantage of the circumstances to place themselves in the picture. The good news is that the police are still open - if something illegal occured they could go to the police, not the press.

One of them did allude to it onlinr some time ago. The BBC has verified that messages they received came from the presenter's phone.

This presenter is wholly responsible for this situation, I'm afraid. He couldn't possibly have believed his behaviour was morally acceptable in the important role he had at the BBC and part of the reason why this is rolling on and on is because he hasn't come forward or made any comment.

The problem is men.
I’d like men to be held to a higher standard of behaviour. I think that would benefit everyone.

I’d also like a government that isn’t corrupt, but I suspect that would rule out every political party we currently have.

So someone has denied they made and sold an illegal image? Phew! Case closed.

Yep all this blaming anything but the person is just deflection

@IAmSalmaFuckingHayek aren't all parties in this meant to be male

Meh, they “claim” - we’ve yet to see actual evidence of anything!!!! Journalism at its most rotten… but it is the Scum🤷🏼‍♀️.

If society decides not to discuss these kind of things so as not to "ruin someone's life" as its not illegal and noones business....
then surely we are just condoning men being sex pests, because there's no consequence if they get caught? We are also providing fertile ground for groomers and abusers to operate, and for men to sexually harass whoever takes their fancy with impunity, as its "not illegal".

I'm horrified that the bar for anyone having an opinion is "is it criminal?" A 60 year old man messaging teenagers on dating sites and sending them emojis is wrong. Why are people condoning it?

@Quveas how can you possibly say with any certainty you know a lot more about this than anyone else? It’s such a ridiculous thing to say. If you did, you certainly wouldn’t be talking nonsense about gravy trains.

To those people who are saying this an attempt for people to make money, and I say this as someone who despises The S*N newspaper, if your words stop one person from coming forward who has been the victim of a sexual offence, you are absolutely disgusting and should be ashamed of yourselves.

I’m really shocked at how many posters are acting like this behaviour is no big deal.

So if a man in his sixties was asking for nude photos/videos/hookups/messages from your 17-20 year old, you would all be fine with that? The latest boy was still at school.

I think it’s tawdry, creepy and vile.

According to The he Guardian, The Sun is now backtracking on claims of illegality.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jul/11/five-questions-for-the-sun-on-its-story-about-the-suspended-bbc-presenter

Me too.

I’m glad the thread has moved away from overwhelming apologists now. Looking at it after the night posts was a car crash of excuses.

If it’s the person everyone thinks, I remember his funky new haircut arousing media attention a few years back.

Doesn’t seem that big of a deal now…

Not really relevant but a couple of people have called him posh. Being well spoken doesn't make you posh!

Whoever this presenter is, it's bloody weird to hero-worship someone just because you've seen them on telly, and to have your faith in humanity destroyed because someone you don't know and will never meet might have done something unpleasant.

It hasn’t been confirmed yet has it?
There are rumours either way, and someone being interviewed on tv said the original allegation was about a girl but then backtracked.

One thing I think of when these stories come out is that if it were a 18-20 year old woman, the TV presenter was messaging online and meeting, people would just think "sleeze ball" or "dirty old man" on the whole.

But every time it's about a homosexual activity/ relationship/cheating it's now suddenly "immoral". Some think any contact with young adults is immoral, but some I believe think it's even more immoral because it's homosexual.

If when the wash is done it turns out that this BBC presenter has committed no crime, but was dating/contacting young men 18-20, I can't say I'm going to be in a moral frenzy about it. People have personal lives, people hide their homosexuality, people make bad choices, but none of that is crime. So I'm a bit live and let live if that scenario plays out I'm afraid.

You are still taking about morals, not legality. The fact that the messages exist or that they appear to have been verified as coming from a specific phone is not evidence of criminal behaviour.

My post was addressing the fact that people are continuing to post that this person has committed sexual offences or abused children. There is not currently a shred of evidence to suggest that is the case. As such everyone deserves to have such matters investigated confidentially. It may well have been the case that someone's behaviour has been such that they cannot continue in their role. That happens in employment all the time. But that is very different than what is happening here, with howling mobs baying for blood, "no smoke without fire" and outright allegations of sexual abuse when there is no evidence of that.

This is about our conduct and behaviour, as people and as a society, and it doesn't show us in a great light either. Perhaps we need to examine our own choices and behaviours before thinking we should judge those of others.

I can’t believe we are FUNDING this depravity.

Yes, that’s our money being funnelled into this horrendous despicable harm to children, and they are children. Created by a man who considered himself far too powerful and untouchable to be held accountable for his sordid actions.

This is escalating into something far, far worse than we initially thought.

Have I missed that it’s been confirmed the youths were men/boys?

This is an interesting take. He is a presenter, not a news investigator or news writer. He literally reads the words on the autocue which others have written and carries out interviews. The trust should be in the people who have investigated and written the news etc, not the mouthpiece.

whether he can continue to have the gravitas is another thing.

Everyone knows who the presenter is. Check other social media, also he isn't currently on tv when he usually is.