British radio disc jockey,
television star and charity fund-raiser Sir Jimmy Savile poses for a
photo at Buckingham Palace, London, after receiving the Order of the
British Empire in 1972. Since his death a year ago at age 84, Savile has
been knocked off his perch as a national treasure, accused of being a
predatory pedophile who used his fame and position to abuse youngsters,
sometimes on BBC
The BBC television
personality with his trademark white-blonde hair was the face of "Top of
the Pops" and "Jim'll Fix It." Families would sit down with their
children to watch Jimmy Savile in their homes.
So when nine-year-old Kevin Cook learned his scout troop would be featured on Savile's show in 1974, he was absolutely thrilled.
Cook told CNN: "He was
almost God-like. He was so famous. Everyone was writing to 'Jim'll Fix
It.' When I told people at school, they just didn't believe it. When
they knew we was going on, he was just fantastic. He was the person
every child, certainly, wanted to know."
Cops: Savile a predatory sexual offender
TV icon sex-abuse scandal rocks the BBC
Jimmy Savile's 9-year-old Scout victim
BBC in hot seat over Savile scandal
After the show, Cook
presented a tie to Savile as a present. That's when he says Savile asked
him if he would like his own "Jim'll Fix it" badge.
According to Cook, Savile lead him backstage at BBC studios into a small, cluttered dressing room and sat him down in a chair.
"He said to me: 'You want your own badge?' I said: 'Yeah.' He said: 'You want to earn your badge?'"
Savile proceeded to molest him, he says, undoing his boy scout uniform and fondling him.
It was only interrupted
when someone opened the door and peeked in, apologized and immediately
walked out. That, he says, is when Savile issued this threat:
"He said, 'Don't you
dare tell anyone about this. No one will believe you because I'm King
Jimmy. Don't tell your mates. We know where you live.' And that's it.
That's the last I ever spoke to him," Cook told CNN.
Cook kept the incident a
secret for 37 years. When a number of women came forward several weeks
ago with claims that Savile abused them as children, he decided to tell
his wife.
"When I first heard, I
thought, 'Oh my God.' I blamed myself for 37 years. That's the first
thing you do. Blame yourself. But I was realizing it's not my fault.
That's a relief. Do you tell anyone? I don't want to tell anyone else
but my wife, I thought."
Immediately after he told his wife, Cook says, they called the police.
Cook's case is now one
of more than 200 allegations of abuse by Savile that UK police are
investigating, stretching back as far as 1958 and as recently as 2006 -
some of the incidents are alleged to have happened on BBC property.
Jimmy Savile died in
2011, and Cook has no hope of bringing him to justice. But he does want
an investigation into what BBC executives knew - and when -- about
Savile's alleged predatory behavior, and whether they could have stopped
it.
"I feel hatred towards
them," he says of the BBC. "Somebody must have known something.
Obviously it was just covered up. That's disgraceful because, I don't
know when it was known, but if it was [before] my incident, this might
not have happened to me."
The BBC says it is
launching an investigation into whether the culture and practices there
at the time allowed Savile to carry out the sexual abuse of children.
The broadcaster says that investigation will begin once it gets the
go-ahead from authorities. In testimony before British lawmakers
Tuesday, BBC Director General George Entwistle said, right now, the
broadcaster is working with police and has sought to ensure nothing it
does would compromise their investigation.
Kevin says he feels guilty for not reporting the alleged incident sooner, and is now urging others to come forward.
"I've come forward now.
If anyone ever suffered any abuse, you will be believed. It's the
hardest thing I could have ever imagined to do," Cook said.
"Even after all these years, I still can't watch the man."
Posts
