Jimmy Saville - Netflix

[Vanderpump]

How the hell did this man get away with it?

Because attitudes were different back then and letcherous overtures from grown men to young girls were commonplace. Not acceptable, not desirable, but not unusual.
Because he picked vulnerable victims.
Because child protection wasn't as robust as it is now (and it's still not perfect).
Because he positioned himself to make himself untouchable.
Because when victims said something, they weren't believed.
As he said himself, he wasn't clever but tricky.

Also, each victim thought they were the only one so thought there must be something wrong with them. He was very careful to hide their identities so they couldn't contact eachother or meet.

I also think social media would have made this less likely to have happened.

And still girls are scared to speak out as they think they won't be believed when their attacker is popular:
BBC News - Cassius Povey: Facebook post led to serial rapist musician being jailed
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-60483404

Because he was extremely intelligent (Mensa level IQ) and knew/learned how to manipulate everyone from his victims to the media to the establishment. Utterly sickening individual with a Madonna - whore complex ( worshipped his mother).

• a Rasputin figure if you like, but didn't meet such a sticky end sadly.

As he said himself, he wasn't clever but tricky

He was a member of Mensa.

Esther Ranson knew what he was like. He tried to get a position on Childline and she did everything to make it impossible.

Yes.

It's quite enlightening, esp on this new documentary (which is the best so far IMO) how it was the female journalists or presenters that seemed to get the measure of him at the time while most of the men seemed oblivious or laughed them off.

I think the first episode clearly shows how he got away with it.

Yes, he looked like a creep, but his whole life appeared to be dedicated to helping people. Of course we know now why he did that - both to access young girls and to gain brownie points with God to offset his sins and get to Heaven!

Also, when you look at footage of men at that time, the fashion meant that a lot of men looked a bit creepy, so although he looked eccentric, it didn't stand out as much as it would now.

I think the BBC have a lot to answer for as they seemed to have turned a blind eye and did an extensive cover job. It was widely known he abused young girls. Jonny Rotten (Sex Pistols) outed him in an interview and claimed the BBC then banned him from their channels. But as it was said in the programme, Saville essentially groomed the whole nation, including the Royal family it seems.

As well as ChildLine, Saville was also banned from working with Children in Need.

I agree that the BBC acted really shamefully. The doc made me feel ill, but I thought the second episode did a good job of giving his victims a voice. It was shocking hearing so many people continuing to defend him even when it was all coming out, as well as those saying there was no point in investigating now that he was dead. I know he was an arch manipulator and that there was a different level of safeguarding back then, but the fact that he was literally given his own key to institutions that were full of vulnerable people is mind-boggling, especially given the rumours that followed him everywhere.

Oh and the clip of him and Gary Glitter laughing together on a BBC sofa is really horrible.

He got away with it because he was a white man.
Another example Harold Shipman, allowed to do as he pleased. All of these perpetrators were white men.
Any one who blew the whistle on them was not believed at best, at worst punished. One girl told the head teacher at the home she lived at (kind of an orphanage) that JS has assaulted her and the result- she was called all the names under the sun and put in solitary confinement as a punishment for the wicked, nasty lies she had told about Poor Uncle Jimmy.
I know of a woman who blew the whistle on a surgeon at a local hospital. She was punished and lost her job. He carried on until he murdered a young woman.
Same old same old.
I also give you Rochdale and Rotherham.

It happened because working class girls, disabled girls and thise unable to stay with their parents for whatever reason, are deemed of low value in society and as PP, said the likes of Rotherham etc shows it is still going on.

I never realised the extent of his crimes and have fallen down a rabbit hole now reading about him. He’s just awful

The terrifying thing is that Savile wasn’t that manipulative.

He simply used the rapist’s rule book - pick victims who you can discredit, use your career power to protect you and work for big institutions (BBC, NHS) who are well-versed in protecting their own reps at all costs.

Cry Victim if you get caught. Worked for Epstein, too - works for all men.

I know Zara, and he only just held onto his position as 'Covid' happened so people were massively "distracted", that an a costly NDA.

Did you see the recent John Leslie C5 documentary? So many parallels as he Interviewed JL.

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I think its paved the way for many to speak out now looking at how many were uncovered for their abuse they endured at js hands So many victims silenced but the amount he abuse was deafening. Its still frustrating how people think Michael Jackson isnt a paedophile when he was another one living in plain sight however fans will never accept his behaviour was nothing but normal.

Watched this last night. Shocking!! He did all this in plain sight! He didn't even make a huge effort to hide what he was doing. It was as if he felt entitled to it because of his fame.
I wonder how many more Seville there are. I've always had my suspicion about a very well known actor (national treasure type status) . I'm convinced that when he is no longer with us there will be a huge amount of dirt on him.

He was extremely manipulative.

Back then no one would believe a mentally ill Broadmoor patient or a troubled teen in Duncroft school above someone like Jimmy Savile. Same reason why the Catholic Church got away with child abuse within their schools and childrens homes.

I’m surprised they didn’t show the John Lydon clip. That was late 70s/early 80s and showed even back then it was an open secret.

Rotherham and Rochdale. Those weren’t white mean getting away with it? Unless I am missing something.

@ZaraSizeMedium who do you mean? I don't follow the news much when it comes to "celebrities".

@Zara I know exactly who you are referring to!

It was an open secret. Trouble is all you heard was what he was like, no details on anything you could actually report.