Saville - saint to sinner

And so the allegations against Sir Jimmy Saville roll on, even more victims coming out of the woodwork several decades after the alleged assaults.
Don't get me wrong - I never particularly liked Sir Jim and most would account that there was something rather creepy about the guy , and as shocking as the public revelations are, I would bet a rather large amount of money that this hasn't come as anything like a shock to the vast majority of people who knew him or the world in which he moved. Comments by journalists, musicians, health workers etc who knew him attest to this - so you have to ask, why now?
I was a teenager in the 70's, a time when every pop group and music star attracted a hoarde of fans, or groupies, who thronged outside the stagedoor hoping to catch the eye of anyone vaguely connected with the acts. I , like many of my generation, also know of plenty of young fans who boasted openly at sexual encounters with the aforementioned - and no-one batted an eyelid. Yes, it was illegal - yes it was exploitation and perverted, but it happened and on a more regular basis than has been admitted. Saville was one of so very many who took advantage - with perhaps the exception that he continued abusing his position to continue for much longer.
And people knew it - but lets face it, the guy was making them huge sums of money, so they decided to ignore it and in doing so colluded in the crime.
What can be achieved so long after the events mentioned and particularly since the perpertrator is dead and buried? The victims who have, presumably, been living with these memories for up to 40 years no doubt feel aggrieved in light of the media spotlight - although there is a merest hint of jumping on the bandwagon, and how many are actually true? As for the media and society as a whole, we should ask why such young victims where available for him to abuse so easily - where were the carers and parents of these young girls? Why were they left alone with a man of dubious character? What is more - does it still happen? Forget the money-sapping enquiries into what happened decades ago by a dead pervert - learn the lessons, move on and ensure that it cannot happen again.