Daily Mail

VICTIM’S FURY AT STARS WHO BACKED CLIFFORD

As predator is jailed for 8 years, woman he abused at 15 speaks out

- By Sam Greenhill and Stephen Wright

A WOMAN abused by Max Clifford as a 15-year-old last night demanded an apology from his celebrity backers. As the sex predator was jailed for eight years, she said her trauma had been worsened by the ‘many famous people’ who lined up to defend him.

And she questioned why the publicist had been invited to tour TV stations after his arrest, trashing his accusers as ‘fantasists and liars’. The woman, who has given an interview to the Daily Mail under the pseudonym Cathy Johnson, spoke out after Clifford, 71, was handed a lengthy jail term that surprised even police.

Saying Clifford’s fame and power had made him feel above the law, the judge revealed he had increased the sentence because of his arrogant behaviour during the trial – laughing and joking in front of the cameras and in court. His victims wept and hugged each other as the publicist was jailed. The woman he groomed and abused as a

15-year- old in 1977 told the Daily Mail they were owed an apology by ‘all those who influenced public opinion by subscribin­g to his “witch hunt” theory.’

After his arrest in 2012, Clifford was invited on to ITV’s Daybreak, where he claimed he was the victim of a witch hunt.

Then, during his eight-week trial, stars including comedian Des O’Connor, actress Pauline Quirke and Sky TV sports presenter Clare Tomlinson came forward to give evidence supporting him.

Miss Johnson, whose full interview appears on page six of today’s Daily Mail, said: ‘Many famous people defended him, adding to his victims’ trauma. You know who you are and you should have the good grace to apologise.

‘After he was arrested, he was repeatedly allowed to go on TV and protest his innocence which made me and the other women feel incredibly intimidate­d. He called us liars and “anonymous women”, when he knew who we were. I nearly backed out of the trial.’

Miss Johnson, who was in court to see Clifford sentenced, added: ‘Justice has been done, I have nothing but contempt and disgust for him.’

The publicist will now swap his £3million Surrey mansion for a prison cell. Judge Anthony Leonard QC said he had shown ‘quite extraordin­ary’ contempt for the girls he sexually abused. He told

More victims may come forward

Clifford the only reason his crimes had not come to light sooner was ‘your own dominant character and your position in the world of entertainm­ent’.

The judge said this ‘ meant that your victims thought that you were untouchabl­e, something that I think you too believed’.

As Clifford was driven off to prison, it emerged police are considerin­g further sex assault charges against him. Twenty-three women originally came forward – with prosecutor­s selecting the seven strongest cases to take to trial – and several others are understood to have come forward since.

Scotland Yard sources described the new allegation­s as ‘significan­t’ and said they would be taken ‘very seriously’ by police and prosecutor­s. One said: ‘The evidence which emerged during the trial gave a number of women the confidence to come forward and make new allegation­s against him. Now that he has gone to jail, yet more victims may contact police.

‘ Clifford was clearly a prolific offender and the idea he stopped attacking girls decades ago is difficult to believe.

‘If anything, his arrogance – and the fact he kept getting away with it – are likely to have resulted in him committing more offences.’

At Southwark Crown Court yesterday, Clifford repeatedly shook his head in the dock as he was sentenced for the eight sex attacks on four victims between 1977 and 1984.

The judge said that if the offences had taken place today – since sentencing guidelines were toughened in 2003 – Clifford would have been regarded as a multiple rapist for which he would have been locked up for life. The maximum sentence for indecent assault at the time was two years.

For Clifford’s eight offences, the judge gave him a series of sentences of 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, six months, 21 months and 15 months, some to run concurrent­ly and some consecutiv­ely, to arrive at a total of eight years. His lawyer said he might appeal.

Some of Clifford’s victims stared intently at him from public seating just a few feet from the dock as the judge addressed him in withering tones before proclaimin­g: ‘You may go down.’ Afterwards, one of the victims – who sparked the PR agent’s downfall by being the first to go to police – told the Daily Mail: ‘We didn’t say anything to each other – we didn’t have to.

‘We had never met before but we all share a common bond.’

Arrogant to the end, Clifford offered no apology as his barrister, Richard Horwell QC, gave the court reasons why his sentence should be as low as possible.

His ‘compassion­ate’ client had raised ‘millions’ of pounds for charity, he said, and elderly Clifford was no longer any threat to the public.

Leading a double life for decades

But the judge said the ‘hypocrite’ publicist had been leading a double life for decades. He said: ‘These offences may have taken place a long time ago when inappropri­ate and trivial sexual misbehavio­ur was more likely to be tolerated or overlooked.

‘But your offending is not trivial but of a very serious nature.’

One of the victims was driven to the brink of suicide, he added.

The judge also said he believed the accounts of six women whom Clifford was not charged over but who were prosecutio­n supporting witnesses at his trial. Their ‘compelling evidence’ included how Clifford sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in a Jacuzzi during a family holiday in Spain in 1983.

This woman and her elderly father were in court, and later hugged each other in tears.

Clifford will begin his sentence at HMP Wandsworth, south-west London, a Category B prison built in 1851 where previous inmates have included gangland boss Ronnie Kray, train robber Ronnie Biggs and Oscar Wilde.

He is likely to be moved to a more comfortabl­e open prison relatively soon, as he is not considered a violent threat. Millionair­e Clifford was also ordered to pay £55,000 towards prosecutio­n costs within 28 days.

As he arrived in the morning for his sentencing, he refused 15 times to say sorry to the victims, smirking as he declared: ‘I stand by everything I’ve said. Everything.’

 ??  ?? Justice at last: ‘Cathy Johnson’ wants apology from stars
Justice at last: ‘Cathy Johnson’ wants apology from stars
 ??  ?? Wave to the gallery: Artist’s impression of Clifford leaving the dock
Wave to the gallery: Artist’s impression of Clifford leaving the dock

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