The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Music mogul ‘used fame to sexually exploit boys’
Case opens against King
Former music mogul Jonathan King used his fame to sexually assault teenage boys as he promised them sex with girls and told of his celebrity friends, a court has heard.
The convicted sex offender, 73, allegedly exploited his position in the record industry to carry out attacks on 11 teenagers as young as 14 in the 1970s and 1980s.
King, an ex-pop star and producer for acts including Genesis, is said to have lured youngsters into his Daimler or Rolls-Royce cars before driving them home, where they were plied with alcohol.
He gave them presents, including records and concert tickets, as well as showing them pornography and pictures of naked girls he told them they could have sex with, said prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC.
King, who made regular appearances on television and radio at the time, also told his alleged victims about his celebrity friends and even claimed 1980s topless model and singer Samantha Fox was his girlfriend, the jury was told.
“When they were in his power and in no position to repel his advances he would assault them. It appears that it was a game of manipulation and power over boys aged about 13 to 16,” she said.
“It appears that it was a game of manipulation and power”
“He would play the same routine again and again, honed for success.”
King, of Bayswater, central London, is standing trial at Southwark Crown Court where he denies 24 serious sexual assault charges against boys aged between 14 and 16, alleged to have taken place between 1970-88.
He appeared in court under his real name, Kenneth George King. He sat expressionless in the dock as the case opened.
A jury of five men and seven women was told King denies he would ever have sex with anyone under age or force himself on someone without consent.
But the prosecutor said his denials are “hollow” and revealed he was convicted in 2001 of sexual offences against five teenage boys in the 1980s.
Referring to the current allegations, she added: “He claims not to know or remember most of the boys, despite their photographs or letters or addresses and details still being in his home up to 30 years later, like trophies kept for his own private perusal.”
The court heard King would target straight, immature boys, securing sex by showering them with gifts as well as paying insincere compliments and making false promises.
The trial, which could last until August 3, continues.