- .Dave Lee Travis sentenced to three months in jail suspended for two years
- .Former DJ guilty of groping researcher behind scenes of Mrs Merton Show
- .Court heard he pinned her against a wall before squeezing her breasts
- .Travis said he was 'mortified and really disappointed' at being found guilty
- .He attacked prosecution for using 'millions of pounds of taxpayers' money'
- .Victim described 'pain' of being called 'a liar and a fantasist' during trial
Dave Lee Travis has walked free from court today after being found guilty of groping a young researcher behind the scenes of the Mrs Merton Show in 1995.
Travis was sentenced to three months in prison suspended for two years at Southwark Crown Court.
Speaking outside the building, he said he was 'mortified' and 'really disappointed' over his conviction but again criticised the case, which he said had cost taxpayers 'millions'.
Dave Lee Travis and his wife Marianne arrive at Southwark Crown Court this morning, where the former radio DJ was given a sentence of three months in prison suspended for two years
Travis was found guilty of groping a researcher in her 20s behind the scenes of the Mrs Merton Show
Travis (pictured leaving court today) was found guilty of groping researcher's breasts for 10-15 seconds after he saw her smoking and said 'your poor little lungs'
Travis said he had been accused 'out of the blue' of being a sexual predator, and had been fighting for two years to clear his name.
He added: 'With millions of pounds of taxpayers' money, and thousands of pounds of police resources, the judge accepted today that the crown had failed to prove their case against me, namely that I am a sexual predator.
'I have been worried, as have close family and friends, that if the prosecution threw enough mud at me, some of it might stick.
'Whilst I am relieved that I have been able to prove that I am not a sexual predator, I am mortified and really disappointed that I have been convicted of one count, and it is of little comfort to me that I was acquitted of so many others.
'Those close to me, including my wife Marianne who has been by my side the whole time, we all know the truth and I am grateful for that.'
Addressing Travis during the sentencing, Judge Leonard said the DJ's offence was of a 'different order' to other high profile convictions under Operation Yewtree.
He said: 'Whilst the commission of any indecent assault is serious and reprehensible, the scale and nature of the offences of which Stuart Hall and other defendants who have been successfully prosecuted under Operation Yewtree and have been sentenced are of a different order of magnitude to the single offence of which you have been convicted.'
Judge Leonard said Travis 'towered' over his diminutive victim, and thought he could get away with the attack because he was a TV star.
The judge said: 'In her victim impact statement, she describes herself as naive and trusting.
'She was subjected to an unprovoked and terrifying assault and considers herself lucky to be psychologically robust enough to deal with the distress, supported by family and friends.
'Giving evidence about these events has been painful for her. When you gave evidence you described what she was alleging took place as "a nasty thing to do".
'You are right in your assessment - it was a nasty thing to do, but it was more than that.
'It was an intentional and unpleasant sexual assault. You took advantage of a young woman in a vulnerable position whose job it was to look after you that day.
'I judge that you believed she would not make a fuss about what you did to her. You were right about that, too.
'She made no complaint until she heard you describe the witnesses in your previous trial as 'liars'. That encouraged her to come forward.'
In her a statement to the court, Travis's victim described the hurt she felt at being branded a 'liar and a fantasist' during the trial.
The woman, who was in her early 20s when she was attacked by Travis, was cornered in the corridor of a BBC television studio where she was smoking.
The radio DJ then commented on her 'poor little lungs' before squeezing her breasts for 10 to 15 seconds, the court heard.
Speaking outside court today, Travis said he was 'mortified' and 'disappointed' that he had been found guilty
He added: 'Those close to me, including my wife Marianne (right) who has been by my side the whole time, we all know the truth and I am grateful for that'
He also attacked his prosecution, which he said had cost the taxpayer 'millions' and used 'thousands of pounds of police resources'
She said: 'I was naive and trusting when I was subjected to an unprovoked and terrifying physical assault at my place of work. I was too paralysed with fear to confront my assailant.'
She said she felt 'lucky' that she was 'physically resilient' enough to get on with her life 'thanks largely to my colleagues'.
She added: 'Remembering the incident still takes me back to feeling like a scared, vulnerable young woman.
'Being called a liar and fantasist and being forced to recall the evidence in court has been painful. I was particularly hurt by the defendant’s claim that financial greed motivated me to come forward.
'I have preserved my anonymity and will not claim compensation now or in the future. I simply wanted to tell the truth.'
She said she was 'grateful' she was believed by her friends and the jury.
Travis, who became a household name in the 1970s, was found not guilty on a second indecent assault charge and the jury was discharged after it was unable to agree a verdict on a count of sexual assault.
He faced a retrial after jurors failed to reach verdicts on those two charges earlier this year. He was cleared of 12 counts of indecent assault at his original trial in February.
During the trial, Travis's victim told the court the DJ had an 'intense stare' as he groped her and the incident was 'unbelievably weird'.
She said she 'froze' as she was pinned against the wall by Travis before he let go of her breasts.
The victim said she reported the incident - which she described as a 'squeezing grope' - to a senior producer.
Sentencing Travis today, Judge Leonard said the DJ's offence was of a 'different order' to other high profile convictions under Operation Yewtree
The court heard that Travis assaulted the woman in 1995 after appearing on the Mrs Merton Show (pictured)
She told the court: 'I said "Oh my God, Dave Lee Travis just touched my tits". It was absolutely the weirdest thing that happened in my life.'
The woman said she did not make an official complaint or contact police at the time because she was young and did not want to make a 'fuss'.
She said a colleague later told her that Travis was known as an 'octopus' because 'he's got hands that go everywhere'.
The woman, who gave evidence without a screen in view of Travis in the dock, said she had since spoken in public about the assault.
Comedian Dave Gorman, who was a writer on The Mrs Merton Show, said he remembered hearing about the incident and that it was 'aggressive' and not a Carry On-style 'playful' act.
'My recollection was everyone in the team would have known,' he said. 'This was office gossip to some extent.'
He added: 'I recall discussions and questions about whether it had been a sort of 'Carry On film wahey', which might be playful, albeit ill-judged, or whether it was aggressive.
Travis was cleared of 12 counts of indecent assault at his original trial in February but was retried after the jury failed to reach verdicts on two other counts
Today the victim has spoken of the 'pain' she felt at being described as a 'liar and a fantasist' during the trial
'My recollection was it was aggressive.'
Travis’s barrister Stephen Vullo QC, mitigating, said his client has spent around £350,000 on the two trials he has faced.
He said Travis’s wife has been 'by his side throughout' and the couple faced an 'enormous cost' as they were forced to sell their family home.
The DJ has not worked since his arrest in October 2012, Mr Vullo said. 'He has not hidden away or tried to frustrate proceedings in any way,' he added.
Travis has no previous convictions and is of 'good character', the barrister said.
Mr Vullo said Travis had not called the victim a 'liar and fantasist' but claimed she had 'escalated and exaggerated' her accusation following the publicity against the DJ.
He continued: 'He has already lost financially to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Therefore, a fine would not be appropriate - he doesn’t have much money left. He has no income.
'They have the house, which his wife has bought from her share of the family home.'
Miranda Moore QC, prosecuting, criticised Travis’s comments to the press attacking his victims.
Travis, who became a household name in the 1970s, was found not guilty on a second indecent assault charge
The DJ has not worked since his arrest in October 2012, and his defence barrister says he has been forced to sell his family home to cover his legal costs
And she said the disparity of age and Travis’s superior position as 'a celebrity invited on a TV show' where his victim worked as a junior researcher were aggravating features.
Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Michael Orchard said: 'As the court has heard, the victim in this case was forced to relive her ordeal by [Travis], who refused to admit his guilt. I commend her for her bravery.
'The Metropolitan Police Service would encourage all victims who have been subjected to sexual assault to make contact with police, whether the abuse was recent or non-recent.
'The passage of time will not prevent offenders being investigated and brought to justice.'
Travis was first arrested in October 2012 under Operation Yewtree, Scotland Yard's £3million investigation into historic sexual abuse in the wake of allegations against the late DJ Jimmy Savile
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