Paedophile BBC DJ and close friend of Jimmy Savile dies behind bars
Disgraced Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning, who carried out "utterly depraved" sex assaults, has died in prison
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Disgraced Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning, who carried out "utterly depraved" sex assaults, has died in prison.
The paedophile friend of Jimmy Savile admitted 21 child sex offences committed between 1969 and 1986 on 11 boys aged between eight and 15.
Denning died in June 2022 while serving his sentence at HMP Bedford, but his death has only just been reported following a prison watchdog report into his care.
The report from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman found there were "issues of concern in Mr Denning’s end-of-life care”.
The paedophile friend of Jimmy Savile admitted 21 child sex offences committed between 1969 and 1986 on 11 boys aged between eight and 15
PA
Denning, who was friends with Jimmy Savile and Gary Glitter, lured his victims with alcohol and cigarettes.
He threatened them to keep quiet - claiming his cellar where he kept his dogs was "where naughty boys who told secrets came".
The DJ, who worked for Radio 1 in the 1960s, forced his victims to perform sex acts on him after enticing them with pizza and holidays.
Denning promised one boy that he "could use his connections to get him into the music industry" and convinced him to pose naked for a photo shoot.
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The paedophile was first convicted of sexually abusing young boys in 1974.
He was jailed three times for sex offences in Czechia between 1985 and 2008 and had been accused of running a paedophile ring.
When he was jailed, the predator had been treated for cancer and heart problems, suffered from Parkinson's and was receiving treatment for a spinal condition.
Sentencing Judge McCreath told Denning: "You groomed all of these boys. They were, for the most part, in their early teens, although some of them were younger.
Radio 1 DJs in 1967 with Chris Denning located in the middle row, second right
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"You used your own fame, your acquaintance with others who were famous, your familiarity with the music industry, your possession of computers and computer games and other devices to win their trust and their misplaces admiration.
"You provided them with drink, alcoholic or otherwise, and with cigarettes.
"You showed them pornographic material. You introduced them to inappropriate sexual behaviour by making it seem normal and exciting.
"You photographed some of them. On occasions the sexual activity took place in the presence of other children."