Other than the enticing mid-'60s orchestral pop tune "Everyone's Gone to the Moon," I was barely aware of Jonathan King, who is something of a legend in U.K. music as a performer, producer, songwriter, TV presenter, record executive, and pop music columnist - a legend and a convicted pedophile.
He was released from prison today after serving half of a seven-year term for "four indecent assaults and two serious sexual offences" on boys aged 14 and 15, committed in the '80s.
The 60 year-old seemed to quite enjoy himself in prison. "I've had a brilliant three-and-a-half years for crimes I did not commit," he announced to the BBC
"You meet fascinating people and get to see the other side of the world, one that you never knew existed. Like most people, I had the view that once the prison gate slams shut, hell takes place, but the reality couldn't be further from the truth. I have had no complaints at all about my time inside, apart from the food at Broadmoor."
Sounds like they let him out early because he was enjoying himself too much.
King will be banned from working with children and may not "receive visits" from anyone under 18 without police permission.
But what interests me are the similarities to another case currently underway in the U.S. - note what the judge said upon King's conviction in '01: "This was a serious breach of trust. You used your fame and success to attract adolescent and impressionable boys."
The prosecutor said, "What he really gave them was his company, the company and interest of a celebrity. It is not hard to imagine how these young men would have felt flattered and excited by the attention of such a person."
King often "befriended" teenage boys on the streets of London, offering them rides in his Rolls Royce and luring them back to his home, where he showed them pictures of naked women and molested them. He reportedly gave them signed t-shirts and records after attacks, and "assiduously maintained good relations with the teenagers' parents," who were often wowed by King's star power.
Man, that sounds familiar.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - DrPat
Well, that sent a shiver down my back...
2 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
i found it most bizarre to hear King plugging his forthcoming CD when being interviewed outside prison. And then quoting oscar wilde. very bizarre. and yeah, he sounded so cheerful, man. time i went to prison, i think. sounds great.
3 - Eric Olsen
I found the parallels too notable to ignore
4 - Steve S
The problem with our systems (here and in Europe) are:
serving half of a seven-year term for "four indecent assaults and two serious sexual offences"
This is what needs to be addressed first, in combatting molesters, I would think.
often the victims of abuse suffer for far longer than that sentence. These types of tactics are very predatory, often doing more to destroy trust than if the crime were committed by a complete stranger.
5 - Eric Olsen
totally agree Steve - although he was convicted on "only" six counts, this was apparently a pattern of behavior that went on for years. I don't know why he was let out after half the sentence, but the tabloids appear to be rabidly against him and think his early release scandalous.
Dukes, I think it takes a certain type to have a "brilliant" time in prison.
6 - Andrew Ian Dodge
Anyone betting if he is going to try to offer his advice to Michael? Some of his neighbors are not terribly keen to have him home to be sure. Of course, unlike with Jackson's case, King is probably not going to try to play the race card.
7 - DrPat
...doing more to destroy trust than if the crime were committed by a complete stranger.
So true, Steve - especially since so many such crimes are a) committed by family members, and b) never prosecuted at all.
Ref: Identifying Child Molesters, Carla van Dam, PhD.
8 - Temple Stark
Hmm. I missed this part of King's life. I knew him when he was the presenter of "Back in the USA" (I think it was)
Like Charles Karult (sp?) or Michael Palin, he toured the USA for the odd spots of life.
9 - Eric Olsen
ha, good point! The parallels could only be parallel-er if King had darkened his skin artificially and had surgery to broaden his features
10 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
i once had a drunken discussion on a train with a fella just outta prison. he told me it was fantastic. pool tables, tv in the room, told when to get up and when to sleep. He thought it was wonderful.
Then, he was in for handing out E in exchange for the green, ie, drug dealing, so probably he was cracked to the teeth throughout his stay. He told me about vodka being brought in inside oranges (injected into them)
And incidentally, he was on his way to a nightclub, with a pocketful of the MC squared.
(e)
11 - Dawn
Can we please identify the gene that helps create these monsters and wipe it out of existence.
Brilliant time eh, I hope his mates treated him to some brilliant, and deadly, STD's.
12 - gonzo marx
as i had stated before..if we could only get this categorized as a mental disease, so they would have to be cleared by a team of Doctor's BEFORE release....a "criminal insanity" as it were
then they could be held in perpetuity under managed conditions...studied so we could find out whar creates them..and stop it
too much to ask for, i guess...
here's to hoping oen of his victims has been working our in the dojo since then and is willing to return the "good time"
the poor kid would probably wind up doing more time than this scum has...
and that thought just makes me sicker
Excelsior!
13 - Eric Olsen
good points Gonzo, it does seem like vigilante justice is not uncommon in these cases, since there are relatively few convictions. That's exactly why the California law was changed in '95.
14 - HW Saxton
Everyone's Gone To The Moon" is such a
great pop tune.It's one of those weird
ethereal tunes that gets stuck in your
head forever after hearing it. Kind of
like:"Telstar" or "Theme From A Summer
Place".
The Philly band "Pink Slip Daddy" do an
excellent cover of "Everyone's Gone To
The Moon" on their long out of print LP:
"Antidisestablishmentarianism".For those
unfamiliar with "Pink Slip Daddy": They
evolved from the band "The Sick Kidz",
whose record was one of the few that Lux
& Ivy from "The Cramps" produced. They
were a kinda punk/sleazeabilly band and
featured the really talented Ben Vaughn
on guitar under the stage name of "Sal
Mineo's Only Son". LOL.
15 - Eric Olsen
damn HW, you are a fount! Totally agree about "Everone's" and your comparison's are apt as well. Also, love Ben Vaughn, have a couple of his CDs
16 - Andrew Ian Dodge
According to CMU he has been told to STFU.
17 - Eric Olsen
I like the bluntness of that!
18 - jadester
"King claimed that there were no victims, as he says he did not force anyone to do anything, and believed that everyone he had a relationship with was "of an age and mental maturity" to make their own decisions, despite the fact that some of them were minors. He is determined to continue pressing hisinnocence. "
if he did actually say that, that's a fecking 100% admission of guilt right there.
there really ought to be some kinda safeguards againts criminals getting out of prison early, only to go and effectively admit to their crimes whilst at the same time claiming innocence.
I believe the reason so many criminals are being let out so early in their sentences has more to do with our prisons already being way overcrowded, than anything else.
19 - Eric Olsen
he seems to be a constantly chatting assplow who has contradicted himself fifty different ways because he can't shut the hell up - he clearly feels superior to it all
20 - DrPat
because he can't shut the hell up - he clearly feels superior to it all
There goes that shiver of recognition again!
21 - Eric Olsen
if they only understood him!!
22 - jadester
it sounds like the problem is the fact that most of us understand him only too well. As did the jury those too-few years ago...
23 - Eric Olsen
he presents himself as the cheerful martyr, it is incredibly egotistical
24 - Victor Plenty
Think about this case very carefully, and remember it the next time you hear anyone try to claim "artistes" are some kind of Nietzschean supermen who create their own morality and are thus free to ignore any moral or legal measures by which the mundane social order might attempt to constrain their "creative lifestyles."
25 - Eric Olsen
V, you have NEVER heard me say anything like that. People are people and the rules apply across the board.