BBC sexual abuse scandal

The scandal erupted at the beginning of October, when a documentary for ITV1 revealed BBC's late TV star Jimmy Savile to be a pedophile who preyed on children inside their own homes, hospitals, and on BBC premises around the time he recorded his hit TV shows there.

Savile, who died last year at the age of 84, was a Radio 1 DJ and the presenter of the "Jim'll Fix It" show on BBC One. As one of Britain's most popular entertainers, and host of the smash hit program "Top of the Pops," he forged a reputation for being a tireless fundraiser and was even rewarded for his contributions to society with both royal and papal knighthoods.

Revelations of Savile's appalling double life, sexually abusing scores of young girls and some boys, came as a massive shock to the British public.

There were years of rumors, and even some fruitless police investigations into Savile's conduct, but he was as manipulative as any sex offender and his fame made it even easier for him to get away with, said Mark Williams-Thomas, a former police detective-turned-investigative reporter who presented the documentary.

One woman, who said Savile had sexually assaulted her in 1970 when she was 14, explained she had not pursued her complaint with the police in 2008 after being told it would lead to a "media circus."

Police said late Jimmy Savile's criminal offenses started in 1959 and went on to 2006, accumulating to about four decades of abuse. The number of his alleged sex abuse victims has been confirmed to reach up to 450, 82% of which were female and 80% were only children or young teenagers at the time of assault.