Jonathan King was a former BBC Radio One DJ and associate of [[Chris Denning]] who became implicated in investigations into [[BBC]] pedophile rings. The information which paved the way for King's downfall was first identified by the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). King first came to the attention of its Serious Sex Offenders Unit following a sex abuse case in the Czech Republic in 1997 involving Chris Denning.[^1] ### Criminal Convictions and Legal Proceedings In November 2000 King was charged with historic counts of child sexual abuse against boys based on allegations made by three men, who alleged King used them for sex in the 70s and 80s. King would be charged with a total of 16 counts of child sexual abuse against boys, with some reports stating 27 men came forward with allegations going back 32 years. He was convicted for 5 of these charges in 2001 and received a 7-year prison sentence. The investigation into King and Chris Denning in the early 2000s led to another investigation called [[Operation Arundel]], into a suspected pedophile ring of BBC celebrities in the 70s and 80s who allegedly procured boys and girls from an underage nightclub called the [[Walton Hop Disco]]. This investigation led to the arrest of another BBC personality in 2003, but the charges against them were subsequently dropped.[^1] One suspect in the Operation Arundel investigation who was never arrested or charged had been a good friend and colleague of both Denning and King, BBC Radio One DJ [[Jimmy Savile]]. The case was closed and forgotten about for nearly a decade, until after Jimmy Savile's death in October 2011 when the floodgate of allegations against him opened. First a few, then many, and finally too many to ignore. Jonathan King was later arrested and charged during an interlinked investigation in 2015 called Operation Ravine, though the charges against him would be dropped. His arrest came as part of the broader investigations into BBC child abuse that followed [[Operation Yewtree]].[^1] ### BBC Network Connections Operation Yewtree very quickly circled back to the earlier investigation into Jonathan King and Chris Denning after allegations against Savile became public. One woman abused by Savile as a ward at a group foster home called Duncroft alleged she and two other girls from the home were driven to the BBC studios and sexually assaulted in Savile's dressing room by Savile, [[Gary Glitter]], and a third famous BBC personality. King's case, along with those of other BBC personalities like Gary Glitter, Chris Denning, and [[Dave Lee Travis]], revealed the extent of the pedophile network operating within the UK entertainment industry, which was largely centered around the BBC.[^1] The investigations suggested that Operation Yewtree was effectively an investigation into the UK entertainment industry at large, as the BBC constituted the majority of the British entertainment landscape during the relevant period. Other BBC personalities convicted during Operation Yewtree included former BBC Radio One DJ [[Dave Lee Travis]] (whose conviction was mild in comparison - groping breast of female colleague), BBC presenter [[Stuart Hall]], and by far the biggest scalp of all [[Rolf Harris]]. Others charged but who later had these dropped due to lack of evidence were BBC TV presenter [[Jim Davidson]] and BBC TV personality [[Freddie Star]].[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). Eye of the Chickenhawk. United States: Thehotstar.