Top prosecutor defends sex charges against acquitted UK celebrities
Top prosecutor defends decision to charge ageing stars after acquittals
The director of Britain's prosecution service has defended the decision to bring sexual assault cases against ageing celebrities, despite two high-profile acquittals that have led to accusations of a witch-hunt.
A string of celebrities have been accused of rape and sexual assault as part of an investigation launched in the wake of the 2011 death of Jimmy Savile, one of Britain's biggest television stars in the 1970s and 1980s.
The public would be horrified if we did not prosecute because a complaint came many years after the event
It emerged that he had sexually assaulted some 300 victims, mainly children, over six decades of abuse.
The BBC and the police were widely criticised for failing to act earlier, prompting commentators to say that the police were trying to atone for past mistakes.
"The public would be horrified if we did not prosecute because a complaint came many years after the event," she said.
When Operation Yewtree was launched by London police, hundreds of people came forward with allegations of sexual abuse by a number of British celebrities.