• Ruby the Heart Stealer denies sleeping with Berlusconi, admits lying to him

    Giuseppe Cacace / AFP - Getty Images

    Exotic dancer Karima El Mahroug, nicknamed Ruby the Heart Stealer, speaks to journalists at Milan's courthouse on Thursday during a protest against the trial of former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi.

    By Manuela D'Alessandro, Reuters

    MILAN -- The nightclub dancer at the center of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's sex trial staged a dramatic protest outside the court on Thursday, alleging that she had been unfairly pressured as part of a campaign against him.

    Karima El Mahroug's emotional statement in defense of Berlusconi followed a protest by parliamentarians from his party outside the court last month as the media magnate tries to have the trial moved away from Milan.

    The charges against Berlusconi, which he denies, include paying for sex with El Mahroug -- better known by her stage name "Ruby the Heart Stealer" -- when she was a minor.

    She has always denied being a prostitute or having sex with the 76-year-old billionaire during the now-notorious "bunga bunga" parties at his villa outside Milan, where numerous witnesses have said she was a regular guest.

    Carrying a large sign reading "The Ruby case: Are you not interested in the truth any more?" she said she had been used as part of a deliberate campaign against Berlusconi by magistrates and sections of the press.

    "Today I realize that there is a war under way against him that I do not feel part of, but which has dragged me in and injures me," she said, reading a prepared statement. "I do not want to be a victim of this situation."

    El Mahroug demanded to be allowed to testify in open court but declined to explain to reporters why she had not appeared at previous hearings. As recently as December, she failed to appear in court, later turning up in Mexico, where she said she was on holiday.

    The trial has been suspended while judges consider Berlusconi's request to transfer it away from Milan, where he says magistrates are waging a vendetta against him. The next hearing is due on April 22.

    Berlusconi is also appealing against a four-year sentence for tax fraud, and his legal problems further complicate the political standoff that arose when elections in February left no party able to form a government.

    Pretended Egypt leader was her uncle
    El Mahroug, her voice breaking at times, said she had been publicly humiliated by the implication that she was a prostitute and said that investigators had exploited her vulnerability to attack Berlusconi, leader of Italy's main center-right party.

    Karima el Marough, better known as "Ruby the Heart Stealer," was called to testify over allegations that former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid to have sex with her when she was still a minor. NBC's Claudio Lavanga reports.

    She said she faced "real and genuine psychological torture" from magistrates once they realized that she would not provide evidence against Berlusconi.

    "I felt used by sections of the press and judges which had a common objective, to hurt people who had helped me," she said.

    "My suffering is also the fault of those judges ... who described me as a prostitute even though I always denied having sexual relations for money and above all having them with Silvio Berlusconi."

    As well as the charge of paying for sex with a person under the age of 18 years, Berlusconi is also accused of abusing the powers of his office by getting El Mahroug released from custody in 2010 when she was held on an unrelated theft charge.

    Prosecutors say Berlusconi asked police to release her because he thought she was a niece of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

    However, El Mahroug admitted to having made this up, saying she had created a "parallel life" as she tried to imagine a different life from the poverty-stricken world in which she grew up.

    "I'm sorry to have told these lies to Silvio Berlusconi as well, who I am sure today would be ready to help me even if I had told the truth," she said. 

    Related:

    'Ruby the Heart Stealer' shows up in court for Berlusconi sex trial

    Berlusconi to 'Ruby the Heart Stealer': 'I'll cover you in gold ... just don't say anything'

    Woman dressed as burlesque Obama for Berlusconi, court told

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • 'Party of evil': American gang-raped in Brazil as boyfriend forced to watch

    Civil Police via AFP / Getty Images

    Mugshots released by Brazil's Civil Police showing Jonathan Froudakis de Souza, 20, left, and Wallace Aparecido Silva, 22, who allegedly raped an American tourist in a minibus in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.

    By Jenny Barchfield, The Associated Press

    An American woman was gang raped and beaten aboard a public transport van while her French boyfriend was shackled, hit with a crowbar and forced to watch the attacks after the pair boarded the vehicle in Rio de Janeiro's showcase Copacabana beach neighborhood, police said.

    A third man, aged 21, was arrested for the attacks, which took place over six hours starting shortly after midnight on Saturday, police said in a Tuesday statement. Two men aged 20 and 22 had already been taken into custody for the attacks, police said, and a young Brazilian woman has come forward to say that she, too, was raped by the same men in the van on March 23.

    "The victims described everything in great detail, mostly the sexual violence," police officer Rodrigo Brant told the Globo TV network. "Just how they described the facts was shocking — the violence and brutality. It surprised even us, who work in security and are used to hearing such things. Their report shocked us."

    The incidents raise new questions about security in Rio, which has cracked down on once-endemic drug violence in preparation for hosting next year's football World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic games. The city will also be playing host to World Youth Day, a Roman Catholic pilgrimage that will be attended by Pope Francis and is expected to draw some 2 million people in late July.

    Officials from the local Olympic and World Cup organizing committees didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

    Police have two men under arrest and are looking for a third suspected of raping a foreign tourist on a minibus in Rio de Janeiro. NBCNew.com's Dara Brown reports.

    The attack also drew comparisons with the fatal December beating and gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus. Six men beset a 23-year-old university student and male friend after they boarded a private bus, touching off a wave of protests across India demanding stronger protection for women. Officials there say tourism has dropped in the country following the attacks.

    In the Brazil case, a police statement said the suspects forced other passengers to get out of the van and then raped the female tourist inside the vehicle, which was one of a fleet of vans that serve bus routes and seat about a dozen people.

    Such van services are often linked to organized crime in Rio, particularly the militias largely composed of former police and firemen that control large swaths of the city's slums and run clandestine services such as transportation and sell cooking fuel and illegal cable TV hookups. In general, tourists avoid the vans and opt for regular buses or taxis.

    Sexual assaults on tourists are not common in Rio, with muggings and petty crime reported more frequently.

    During the assault, the two foreigners were driven to the poor neighborhood of Sao Goncalo, where the two suspects were apprehended, a police statement said.

    Reports said the two foreigners had been studying Portuguese in Rio for about a month and both left Brazil following the attack.

    The police statement said that one victim's cellphone was found in the suspects' possession. The suspects had also used a debit card belonging to one of the victims at two gas stations, it said.

    The Globo television network broadcast surveillance camera images of two men filling up the white van and showed police images of a crowbar the suspects used to beat and intimidate the victims. The victims positively identified the two suspects.

    In an interview with Globo television, commanding officer Alexandre Braga, who heads the Rio police unit specializing in crimes against tourists, said the suspects had gone on a sex crime spree.

    "The characteristics of both crimes, both the Brazilian case and the one with the foreigners, lead us to believe that they [the suspects] wanted to have a 'party of evil,' in quotes," Braga said. "The principal motive appears to have been the satisfaction of their lust."

    He added that the robbery and other crimes appear to have been "secondary."

    Multiple calls to police seeking further details on Tuesday were not immediately returned.

    In Brazil, more than 5,300 cases of sexual assault were reported between January and June 2012, according to the country's Health Ministry.

    Related:

    Female tourists shun India after gang-rape, murder

    Six arrested in India for gang-rape of Swiss tourist

    This story was originally published on Mon Apr 1, 2013 5:26 PM EDT

    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • India bus gang-rape trial: Victim's friend gives evidence from wheelchair

    By Annie Banerji, Reuters

    NEW DELHI - The trial of five men charged with gang-raping and murdering a young woman on a bus in New Delhi opened on Tuesday with closed-door testimony from her male friend who appeared at court in a wheelchair, still bearing the scars of injuries from the attack.

    Anindito Mukherjee / EPA

    A Delhi police van arrives at the Delhi Saket court in New Delhi, India, Tuesday.

    The 28-year-old software engineer, who may not be identified, is the prosecution's star witness in a case that has triggered nationwide protests, an intense debate about rampant crime against women in India and tougher anti-rape laws.

    The five accused are Vinay Sharma, a gym assistant, Ram Singh, the bus driver, his brother Mukesh Singh, bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh and fruit vendor Pawan Kumar.

    They have pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and murder. A sixth accused is being tried separately as a juvenile.

    Police allege the six attacked the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist and her friend on the bus as the couple returned home from watching a movie on Dec. 16.

    The woman was repeatedly raped and tortured with a metal bar. The couple were also severely beaten before being thrown onto a road.

    The woman died of internal injuries in a Singapore hospital two weeks later.

    Victim's father: Hang them
    As the trial got under way, the victim's father made a surprise appearance at a news conference organized by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to call for his daughter's attackers to be hanged.

    At one stage, the friend, defense lawyers and some policemen moved from the courtroom to a courtyard where the bus on which police say the attack took place was parked.

    Journalists saw some of them board the vehicle, which was white with tinted windows and orange curtains. Above the windshield was painted "Praise the Goddess" in Hindi.

    The victim's friend was not seen boarding the bus. The friend's father said later it was the second time his son had seen the bus since the attack.

    Indian authorities have filed rape and murder charges against five men accused of the gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus. ITN's Geraint Vincent reports.

    In his statement to police after the assault, the friend said their attackers had asked "where are you going with a girl so late at night?" before launching a furious assault in which he was beaten with a metal rod and his clothes ripped off.

    While he was being beaten, the woman was repeatedly raped, he said, according to a police charge sheet seen by Reuters.

    The prosecution says articles stolen from the couple, including their cellphones, rings and debit cards were found in raids conducted on the homes of the accused. DNA evidence and bloodstained clothes also form part of their case.

    Defense lawyers say they will highlight what they say are discrepancies in the account given by the victim's friend.

    The five men are being tried in a special fast-track court opposite the shopping mall where the victim and her friend went to watch the film "Life of Pi" before boarding the bus.

    About 30 policemen were deployed outside the courtroom on Tuesday as the five accused arrived wearing scarves or handkerchiefs to mask their faces. 

    Related:

    Indian cabinet moves to toughen laws on rape, crimes against women

    Video: Father of rape victim speaks about her dreams, final days

    Attorney in gang rape case blames victim

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • BBC star with royal links charged with rape, sex offenses against children

    Paul Ellis / AFP - Getty Images, file

    British broadcaster Stuart Hall arrives at Preston Magistrates Court in northwest England on Jan. 7.

    By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News

    LONDON -- A BBC sports commentator and entertainer -- so popular that members of Britain's royal family once took part in his game show -- has been charged with raping a woman and indecently assaulting girls as young as nine, according to police.

    Stuart Hall, 83, who was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth in 2012 for services to broadcasting and charity, was arrested Tuesday morning after going to a police station voluntarily. He had covered soccer for BBC Radio 5 Live until recently.

    The Associated Press noted the allegations had deepened "concerns about sex abuse by top BBC personalities decades ago."

    In 1999, more than 50 British lawmakers signed a motion in parliament to congratulate Hall for 40 years in television with one, Tom Pendry, describing him as an “icon with the youth of today.”

    Hall, famed for laughing hysterically, has commentated on soccer matches since the 1950s. He is known for his off-the-wall approach to covering the sport.

    He also hosted the comedy game show “It’s a Knockout” in the 1970s and 1980s.

    In 1987, four members of the U.K. royal family – Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sarah, Duchess of York -- took part in a one-off version of the show for charity, which was hosted by Hall. Stars such as Meatloaf, John Travolta and John Cleese also participated.

    In a statement Tuesday, Lancashire Constabulary said Hall, of Wilmslow in Cheshire, England, was alleged to have raped a 22-year-old woman in 1976.

    “The indecent assault offences are alleged to have been committed between 1967 and 1986 and to involve 10 girls aged between 9 and 16 years,” the statement said.

    Hall was given bail Tuesday and is due to appear before a court in Preston on Feb. 7.

    In December, police said Hall had been charged with three counts of indecent assault.

    For 20 years, Jimmy Savile's children's show was a highlight of Saturday night family TV on the BBC. But now, British police say 300 people have come forward with claims that Savile abused them during his 60-year broadcasting career. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.

    The charges against Hall come amid a string of claims that famous Britons committed sexual offenses, mostly during the 1960s and 1970s.

    These came to light after it emerged that the late Jimmy Savile, who was one of Britain’s top entertainers for decades, was a prolific sex offender.

    Earlier this month, police released a report cataloging more than 50 years of rapes and indecent assaults, saying he had committed at least 214 sex crimes against victims as young as 8.

    Like Hall, Savile was also honored by the British queen, receiving a knighthood.

    A number of other high-profile figures have been questioned by police, including former glam rock singer Gary Glitter and comedian Freddie Starr, who both deny any wrongdoing.

    Related:

    BBC legend Jimmy Savile committed at least 214 sex crimes, police say

    'A steep fall' for BBC as child sex abuse scandal rocks the UK


  • Report: Six suspects held over another India bus gang rape

    Strdel / AFP - Getty Images

    Indian police personnel present six arrested men, accused of a gang rape in Punjab state, Sunday.

    By Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

    Updated at 8:39 p.m. ET: Six suspects have been arrested over the rape of a woman on a bus in northern India, just weeks after the gang-rape and murder of a student sparked nationwide protests, reports said early Sunday.


    Police say a 29-year-old woman was a lone passenger on a bus to her village in northern Punjab state on Friday when she was attacked, The Associated Press reported.

    The driver and conductor allegedly refused to stop at her village and instead drove her to a desolate location. They took her to a nearby building where they were joined by friends and raped her repeatedly, the AP said.

    The woman went to a police station in the morning to file a complaint. Six of the seven suspects have been arrested, Reuters reported.

    The issue of rape has taken center stage in India, where a 26-year-old woman said she was raped through the night Friday by six men. NBC's Duncan Golestani reports.

    The apparent case follows the gang rape and fatal beating of a medical student on a New Delhi bus in December, which sparked protests in India over national attitudes to violence against women and made headlines around the world.

    Related: Defense attorney blames victim in India gang-rape, murder case

    Despite the heightened awareness of the way sex crimes are dealt with, the Times of India reported that the latest victim was publicly named by police in Punjab – a move the newspaper described as “completely insensitive.”

    Related: Father of rape victim: Hang the monsters who did this

    "Six men have been arrested on allegations of having raped a 29-year-old woman... after forcibly taking her to an unknown location on the night of January 11," local police officer Raj Jeet Singh said, according to Agence France-Press.

    Police say they arrested six suspects on Saturday and are searching for one other, AFP said.

     

     

     

  • BBC legend Jimmy Savile committed at least 214 sex crimes, police say

    Leslie Lee / Getty Images

    Iconic British television presenter Jimmy Savile shows off his OBE award after being honored at London's Buckingham Palace on March 21, 1972.

    By Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

    LONDON — Former BBC star Jimmy Savile was one of Britain’s "most prolific" sex offenders, committing at least 214 sex crimes against victims aged as young as 8, police said Friday.

    Investigators released a report cataloging more than 50 years of rapes and indecent assaults. It accused the late television and radio host of using his celebrity status to gain access to vulnerable children in hospitals, nightclubs and even a hospice for the terminally ill.

    Almost all the allegations have been made since Savile’s death in 2011, even though the offences date back as far as 1955.

    The revelations have triggered a scandal in Britain and prompted a string of public inquiries into how some allegations were not properly investigated while Savile was alive.

    "It is now clear that Savile was hiding in plain sight and using his celebrity status and fundraising activity to gain uncontrolled access to vulnerable people across six decades," the police-led report said. "For a variety of reasons the vast majority of his victims did not feel they could speak out and it’s apparent that some of the small number who did had their accounts dismissed by those in authority including parents and carers."

    Savile, who raised an estimated $55 million for charity, achieved fame on BBC shows including "Top of the Pops" and "Jim'll Fix It." In 1990, he was given a knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth and received a Papal Knighthood at the Vatican.

    For 20 years, Jimmy Savile's children's show was a highlight of Saturday night family TV on the BBC. But now, British police say 300 people have come forward with claims that Savile abused them during his 60-year broadcasting career. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.

    The offences span 28 police forces across the U.K. and the scale of his abuse is so vast that the report included a map and an index of the alleged locations.

    The number of people Savile victimized "simply beggars belief," Peter Watt, co-author of the report [PDF link] and director of children’s charity NSPCC told ITV News.

    "He is without doubt one of the most prolific sex offenders we have ever come across and every number represents a victim that will never get justice now he is dead. But with this report we can at least show his victims that they have been taken seriously and their suffering has been recognized."

    In total, more than 450 have people have come forward to police with allegations of abuse involving Savile. Most but not all victims have been interviewed and to date 214 criminal offences have been formally recorded. They included 34 rapes or serious sexual assaults, according to the report. The last incident recorded occurred in 2009. His victims ranged in age from 8 to 47.

    The report concluded:

    “The details provided by the victims of his abuse paint the picture of a mainly opportunistic individual who used his celebrity status as a powerful tool to coerce or control them, preying on the vulnerable or star-struck for his sexual gratification. Sadly, this type of behavior is not uncommon in any society - sexual abuse, whether in street gangs, though trafficking or within families and institutions, often involves the use of powerful coercion, intimidation and manipulation to exploit the vulnerable."

    In a separate development, Britain’s most senior prosecutor apologized to some of the women abused by Savile, revealing that police missed three chances to take him to trial while he was alive.

    Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, said police had been "unjustifiably cautious" investigation four allegations involving girls as young as 14 who said they were abused by Savile in the 1970s.

    He said he hoped the organization’s internal review would prove to be a "watershed" moment in the handling of child abuse cases.

    In a statement, he said:

    "Many people feel that for sexual offences, where it is 'one person's word against another's' and there is no or little scientific or other evidence to support the allegation, no prosecution should be brought. But this is to ignore the reality of many sexual offences which, by their nature, do not usually take place in front of witnesses and result in no meaningful scientific evidence. Taking a cautious approach to all complainants, on the ground that some might be making a false allegation of a sexual offence, can have the consequence that a prosecution for a true complaint may not take place."

    Related stories:

    'A steep fall' for BBC as child sex abuse scandal rocks the UK

    Jimmy Savile abuse scandal stuns Britain: a who's who primer

    Report: Pop star arrested in connection with Savile abuse case

  • BBC boss Entwistle quits amid turmoil over network's child sex abuse scandal

    BBC Director General George Entwistle resigned Saturday after the network wrongly implicated a 90-year-old politician in a child sex-abuse scandal. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    LONDON -- BBC Director General George Entwistle resigned Saturday after saying the broadcaster should not have aired a report that wrongly implicated a politician in a child sex-abuse scandal that has thrown the 90-year-old state-funded broadcaster into turmoil.


    Entwistle, just two months into the job, has faced widespread criticism since a rival broadcaster carried charges last month that a former BBC star, the late Jimmy Savile, was one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

    Entwistle's comments followed an embarrassing retreat for the BBC, which apologized Friday for its Nov. 2 "Newsnight" TV show on alleged sex abuse in Wales in the 1970s and 1980s. During the program, victim Steve Messham claimed he had been abused by the politician. The BBC didn't name the alleged abuser, but online rumors focused on one, who Friday issued a fierce denial and threatened to sue.

    Messham then said he had been mistaken about his abuser's identity and apologized to the politician, prompting fury over the BBC's decision to air the report and the suspension of investigative programs at "Newsnight."

    Speaking outside the BBC center in London on Saturday, Entwistle said he had taken the decision "in the light of the unacceptable journalistic standards of the "Newsnight" film broadcast on Friday 2nd November" because he was editor-in-chief.

    "I have decided that the honorable thing to do is to step down from the post of director general," he said. "The wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader."

    BBC Director of Audio and Music Tim Davie was appointed BBC's acting director general following Entwistle’s resignation.

    Accepting Entwistle's resignation, BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said: "This is undoubtedly one of the saddest evenings of my public life. At the heart of the BBC is its role as a trusted global news organization. As the editor-in-chief of that organization, George has very honorably offered us his resignation because of the unacceptable mistakes -- the unacceptable shoddy journalism -- which has caused us so much controversy."

    Earlier Saturday, Entwistle told BBC radio, "We should not have put out a film that was so fundamentally wrong. What happened here is completely unacceptable."

    Carl Court / AFP - Getty Images file

    BBC Director General George Entwistle, speaks to the media after attending an October Commons culture committee in central London.

    British comic Freddie Starr arrested in Savile abuse case

    But Enwistle's insistence that he was not aware of the program before it was broadcast — saying in hindsight he wished the matter had been referred to him — had drawn incredulity from politicians and media watchers wondering how he could have allowed a second botched handling of a high-profile child sex-abuse story so soon after the broadcaster was pitched into crisis over allegations against Savile.

    "The level of failure of management at every level within the BBC, up to and including the director general, is just extraordinary," 
    John Whittingdale, chairman of parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee, told Reuters.

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    The scandal around Savile, who died last year and who is alleged to have sexually abused many young people, put the BBC and its premier investigative program "Newsnight" on the firing line after it emerged the program had decided to shelve its own report into allegations against Savile.

    Hundreds hundreds of people are coming forward to report abuse dating back over several decades by Savile, a household name in Britain, and others.

    Lawyers representing some of the victims have said their clients indicated an organized pedophile ring involving celebrities existed at the BBC during the height of Savile's fame in the 1970s and 1980s.

    "Newsnight" pulled a planned expose of Savile shortly after his death last year, and the BBC went ahead with tribute shows.

    Furor over that decision was reignited when the same program aired the Nov. 2 report about alleged sex abuse in Wales in the 1970s and 1980s.

    Entwistle's full statement:

    "In the light of the fact that the Director-General is also the Editor-in-Chief and ultimately responsible for all content; and in the light of the unacceptable journalistic standards of the Newsnight film broadcast on Friday 2nd November; I have decided that the honorable thing to do is to step down from the post of Director-General.

    "When appointed to the role, with 23 years' experience as a producer and leader at the BBC, I was confident the Trustees had chosen the best candidate for the post, and the right person to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead. However the wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader.

    "To have been the Director-General of the BBC even for a short period, and in the most challenging of circumstances, has been a great honor.

    "While there is understandable public concern over a number of issues well covered in the media - which I'm confident will be addressed by the Review process - we must not lose sight of the fact that the BBC is full of people of the greatest talent and the highest integrity. That's what will continue to make it the finest broadcaster in the world."

    This story includes reporting by Reuters and The Associated Press.

    For 20 years, Jimmy Savile's children's show was a highlight of Saturday night family TV on the BBC. But now, British police say 300 people have come forward with claims that Savile abused them during his 60-year broadcasting career. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.

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  • British comic Freddie Starr arrested in Savile abuse case

    For 20 years, Jimmy Savile's children's show was a highlight of Saturday night family TV on the BBC. But now, British police say 300 people have come forward with claims that Savile abused them during his 60-year broadcasting career. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.

    By Reuters

    LONDON -- British police arrested comedian Freddie Starr on Thursday as part of an investigation triggered by allegations that the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile sexually abused hundreds of children, according to media reports.

    Photoshot via Getty Images, file

    Freddie Starr.


    Police said in a statement they had arrested a man in his 60s on suspicion of sex offenses. The man was identified by Sky News and ITV News as Starr, who earlier had offered to talk to police.

    The allegations have shaken Britain's state-funded broadcaster, with hundreds of people now coming forward to report abuse dating back over several decades by Savile, a household name in Britain.

    Lawyers representing some of the victims have said their clients indicated an organized pedophile ring involving celebrities existed at the BBC during the height of Savile's fame in the 1970s and 1980s.

    Scandal
    On Sunday, police arrested glam rock singer and convicted sex offender Gary Glitter, born Paul Gadd, as part of the Savile investigation. He was released on bail.

    Latest allegation: BBC star took teen girls to hospital staff rooms

    BBC Director General George Entwistle and his predecessor, Mark Thompson, incoming chief executive officer of the New York Times Co., have come under heavy criticism for their handling of suspicions about Savile.

    At a recent parliamentary hearing, Entwistle rejected claims that BBC bosses tried to hide allegations against Savile or suppressed an inquiry by one of their own news programs.

    Thompson, who was still director general in late 2011 when BBC's Newsnight shelved a report investigating the allegations against Savile, has said he did not know about the program's investigation and had no involvement in the decision to ax the report.

    The scandal has attracted attention in the United States, where Thompson's appointment at The New York Times has been questioned by senior journalists at the newspaper, who have accused him of involvement in a cover-up to protect his former employer's reputation.

    Police believe former TV star Jimmy Savile, a national icon, may have been one of Britain's worst pedophile offenders. Some of Savile's alleged 300 victims had appeared on his TV shows. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.

    Thompson has said he had approached his new employers to explain his role at the BBC and why he had not dealt with such an issue, despite being the director general and editor-in-chief of the world-renowned organization.

    Prime Minister David Cameron has said the sex abuse allegations leave the BBC and other institutions with serious questions to answer.

    The revelations have shocked fans of the once highly popular Savile, who died last year at the age of 84.

    Related stories:

    Estate frozen
    In a sign of preparation for claims, his 4.3 million pound ($6.93 million) estate has been frozen in response to the allegations.

    Starr, 69, has publicly denied one allegation linked to a show Savile presented in the 1970s.

    "I'm being persecuted by the press saying that I have been with underage girls and I haven't - never will I go with underage girls," Starr told the BBC last month.

    "I'm totally innocent. Totally innocent. I would never go with a girl like that ... I hope they question me, I want to clear my name. I've got nothing to hide."

    The comedian, singer and impressionist was the subject of one of Britain's best-known tabloid newspaper headlines: "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster."

    The fictitious story in the top-selling Sun newspaper involved Starr eating a woman's pet hamster after she refused to make him a sandwich.

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    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • UK in turmoil after multiple claims kids' entertainer molested children for years

    Hulton Archive via Getty Images

    English disc jockey, television broadcaster and charity worker Jimmy Savile on April 17, 1974, with some of the children who were going to take part in his show 'Jim'll Fix It' on BBC television.

    By Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News

    LONDON - Sit down children and let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was an eccentric disc-jockey and TV presenter with long golden hair who became a favorite with families all around the United Kingdom.


    For years he presented a massively popular kids’ TV show where this kind and gentle man helped children achieve the stuff of their dreams. It was called “Jim’ll Fix It.” It had a catchy theme tune I can still whistle.

    He smoked big cigars, wore outlandish suits, ran marathons and raised millions for charity. In recognition of his good work, he was knighted by the queen. Arise Sir Jimmy Savile.

    When he died, doctors and nurses lined the streets near their hospital to pay homage to this larger-than-life philanthropist as his cortege drove through his home town.

    The fairy tale was over.

    But now it has emerged it was a nightmare all along.

    For it turns out that Uncle Jim was very likely a sexual pervert -- a man who systematically sought out young girls and abused them over decades, all while hiding under the guise of being one of the biggest and nicest celebrities in the country.

    Samir Hussein / WireImage via Getty Images, file

    Sir Jimmy Savile attends the ceremony to name Cunard's new cruise-liner Queen Elizabeth II in Southampton Docks Oct. 11, 2010 in Southampton, England.

    To get the enormity of this, imagine Captain Kangaroo standing accused today of being a sexual predator.

    'Everyone' knew
    The revelations burst into the public consciousness last week, and every day since the headlines have revealed claims of more and more lurid behavior -- much of it taking place under the noses of the authorities, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the country's highly respected public broadcaster.

    It’s alleged that for years Savile took underage girls into his dressing room at the BBC -- and that “everyone” knew what was going on. No-one did anything.

    ITV News: TV star says 'Savile's hands were everywhere, just lingering'

    Savile’s supposed good works included working as a porter and fundraiser in major medical facilities. Now, he’s said even to have abused children as they lay in their hospital beds. 

    I bumped into him myself when I went to the hospital with my kids.  He was charming, and they were thrilled to see him. There was not a hint of anything to cause me – a protective dad – any concern.  Quite the opposite. It was easy to be star-struck by his apparent warmth.

    Across Britain, 11 police forces are now investigating up to 40 allegations of abuse by victims who were as young as 13. There are calls to strip him of his knighthood.

    Too late. Savile died last year at the age of 84.  A showman to the end, he was buried in a gold coffin and laid to rest at an angle of 45 degrees so he could have a view out to sea.

    Phil Noble / Reuters

    Floral tributes and a piece of turf mark the spot where the headstone was removed from Jimmy Savile's grave.

    His gravestone -- actually three of them side-by-side -- was, like Savile, flamboyant and larger than life.  He penned his own epitaph, written in gold leaf on the polished granite stone: “It was good while it lasted.”

    Well, no it wasn’t, Sir Jimmy. It was awful, and it should have been stopped before you could hurt so many unsuspecting, trustful youngsters.

    The investigations will go on. The BBC has promised to dig into his past -- and their own apparent failure over years to stop him. Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken of his concerns.

    This week Savile’s gravestone was dismantled in the early morning gloom “out of respect to public opinion, and to those who are buried there and to those who tend their graves.”

    It was broken into pieces and will be ground down and used as landfill. Dust to dust.

    His epitaph is gone with it. Instead of the fame he so craved and enjoyed, and in spite of the millions he raised for charity, he will be remembered as a monster who molested kids.

    So much for the fairy tale.

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  • Britain's Supreme Court backs extradition of Julian Assange to Sweden

    Geoff Caddick / AFP - Getty Images, file

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is wanted in Sweden for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual assault.

    By msnbc.com staff and news services

    Updated 4:42 a.m. ET: LONDON -- Britain's Supreme Court on Wednesday backed the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to Sweden where he is accused of sex crimes -- the latest chapter in the saga of the self-styled Internet whistle-blower. 

    Swedish prosecutors want to question Assange over claims of rape and sexual assault made by two female former WikiLeaks volunteers, and he has been fighting a lengthy legal battle against extradition since his arrest in Britain in Dec. 2010.

    Seven judges at Britain's highest court rejected by a majority of 5-2 that Assange's claim that a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) under which his extradition is sought was invalid.  Two lower courts have already ruled he should be extradited.

    The former computer hacker gained international prominence in 2010 when WikiLeaks began releasing secret video footage and thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables about Iraq and Afghanistan, in the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history.

    That made him a hero to anti-censorship campaigners but a menace to Washington and other governments. Assange also faced widespread criticism that he had put lives at risk by blowing the cover of sources who spoke to diplomats and intelligence agents in countries where it was dangerous to do so.

    WikiLeaks published intelligence firm's emails

    Since then, WikiLeaks has faded from the headlines due to a dearth of scoops and a blockade by credit card companies that has made donations to the site almost impossible. Assange's personal standing has been damaged by the Swedish sex case and he has lost support from most of his celebrity backers.

    Since his detention, he has mostly been living under strict bail conditions at the country mansion of a wealthy supporter in eastern England. His associates say that amounts to 540 days under house arrest without charge.

    After losing his appeal against extradition to Sweden to face allegations against rape and sexual assault, The Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, says he is considering his next step, which could be an appeal to Britain's Supreme Court. ITN's Sejal Karia reports.

    The flamboyant Australian's appeal hinged on a legal technicality rather than the substance of the allegations of sexual misconduct or his claims that the United States has been putting pressure on Britain and Sweden to take action against him.

    His lawyers argued the EAW was invalid because it was issued by a prosecutor and not a judge or a court as required in Britain. Prosecutors acting for Sweden say different countries have different legal procedures which are allowable under the agreed EAW format. 

    Another appeal still possible

    Assage can still take his case further, to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). 


    If that court agrees to hear his challenge, a decision which must be made within 14 days, he can lodge an injunction to have the extradition process put on hold, and it could be months at the very least before any conclusive verdict.

    "If the ECHR declines to take the case then he will be extradited to Sweden as soon as arrangements can be made," Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said.

    Should he win the case, a spokeswoman for Sweden's prosecutors said the EAW would still be valid in any other European country.

    Assange's personal travails have accelerated WikiLeaks' slide toward irrelevance since its heyday.

    Army is pressed on why it kept trusting Manning

    The suspected source of the site's biggest and most dramatic 2010 leaks, U.S. intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, is now facing 22 criminal charges which, if he is convicted, could land him in jail for life.

    Manning's predicament has not encouraged any new sources to come forward, and to compound WikiLeaks' problems the blockade by the likes of U.S. credit card firms Visa and MasterCard has starved it of cash.

    Defense lawyers for Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of spilling classified secrets to WikiLeaks, say his sexual orientation plays a role in the case against him. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

    Assange once enjoyed support from socialite Jemima Khan, film director Ken Loach and crusading journalist John Pilger, but most of his high-profile backers have since distanced themselves from him. Many former friends and associates have turned against Assange also, describing him as a megalomaniac. 

    However, he still has loyal followers and rallies are planned in several countries in the wake of the court's verdict. 

    Instantly recognisable with his unusual white-blond hair, Assange has appeared in an episode of "The Simpsons". He has also launched a talk show on Russia Today, a Kremlin-funded English language TV station.

    Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Two Americans held over death of student in Japan after Nicki Minaj concert

    By Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com

    Two Americans have been arrested in connection the death of a female Irish exchange student in Japan, police in Tokyo were reported as saying on Sunday.

    Nicola Furlong, 21, from County Wexford, Ireland, was found unconscious in a hotel room early on Thursday, hours after attending a concert by the rapper Nicki Minaj, the Irish Times said.

    She was later confirmed dead at a hospital, where an autopsy indicated she may have been strangled.

    The Irish Times said Furlong is believed to have gone to Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, a business and shopping hub in central Tokyo, after midnight with her female friend after the two met the American pair.

    The Daily Yomiuri in Japan said police arrested two American men - a musician, 19, and a dancer, 23 - on suspicion of sexually assaulting Furlong's friend and fellow student, 21, in a taxi on the way to the hotel.

    It said police suspect the men know how Furlong subsequently died.

    The Japan Times said the 19-year-old suspect was alone in a room with Furlong when hotel staff went up to probe a complaint about loud noise.

    None of the reports could be confirmed by msnbc.com.

    Furling was attending Takasaki City University of Economics in Gunma Prefecture.

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  • Strauss-Kahn freed after grilling in French prostitution inquiry

    By NBC News and news services

    PARIS -- Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been released from a French police station after nearly two days of questioning over a suspected hotel prostitution ring.

    Judicial officials say Strauss-Kahn, a one-time French presidential hopeful whose political aspirations were derailed by a May 2001 sexual assault accusation in New York City, will be summoned again next month by three judges who will decide if there is enough evidence to file charges in a case centering on the alleged prostitution ring in France and Belgium.

    He was held by police for 32 hours and spent the night in a cell, according to NBC News.

    Strauss-Kahn held in French prostitution ring

    French TV footage showed police restraining reporters behind metal barriers as a tinted-window sedan carrying Strauss-Kahn left the police station in northern city of Lille.

    The investigation is focused on a prostitution ring that allegedly supplied clients of Lille's luxury Carlton Hotel. Police want to establish whether Strauss-Kahn knew that women at parties he attended in Paris and Washington were prostitutes.

    Strauss-Kahn believed he was participating in swingers' parties and had no reason to suspect that the women were prostitutes, his lawyer Henri Leclerc has said previously. Consorting with prostitutes is legal in France; however, Strauss-Kahn could be charged for benefiting from misappropriated company funds if investigators conclude he attended sex sessions with prostitutes that company executives paid for out of expense accounts, according to Britain's The Guardian.

    Sex scandal
    Strauss-Kahn's job as head of the International Monetary Fund, as well as his presidential ambitions, came to an end last spring when he was accused of trying to rape a Guinean chambermaid in a Manhattan hotel suite. Criminal charges were later dropped when it emerged that the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, was an unreliable witness. Diallo is now pursuing him in a civil action.

    Separate attempted-rape accusations by a Parisian writer also were shelved by French police on October 13 -- three days before Strauss-Kahn's name surfaced again in the Lille investigation.

    Nancy Ing from NBC News and Reuters contributed to this report.

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