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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Jimmy Savile, a monstrous pedophile hiding in plain sight -- Massive cover up ensured BBC star escaped arrest when alive

Posted on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 08:51 AM

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Jimmy Savile receives his knighthood from the Queen for entertainment and services

When I was living in Ireland, during the 1970s, Jimmy Savile was a big deal. The platinum haired DJ was host of “Top of the Pops” the most popular program by a mile on BBC television, featuring the top twenty songs in the charts that week. For a teenage generation, just feeling the first stirrings of the pop revolution, Jimmy Savile defined cool.

Savile was a welcome dash of color on a grey landscape and was universally loved.

By the time I emigrated Savile had moved on to his show “Jim’ll Fix It’ where he essentially made dreams come true for sick children.

Over the years he raised tens of millions for children’s charities and he perfected the role of aging eccentric rock star beloved by the masses.

Read more: Irish interview with Jimmy Savile, suspected mass pedophile, surfaces

He was revered from coast to coast and in Ireland, where he was a frequent visitor, he was mobbed. He was knighted by the Queen and he went to his grave last year as one of the most respected and beloved leaders of his generation.

Yet hiding in plain sight all the time was the fact that he was a vicious pedophile.

British police now say he may have abused by up to 300 young victims including, sickeningly, some of the ill children he helped.

How could he have gotten away with it for so long?

The answer now seems clear. He was so powerful that even those who knew his dirty secret stayed quiet about it.

That apparently included senior figures in the BBC who cast a blind eye on his activities because he was such a valuable commodity to them. A major investigation on him was shelved after pressure from unknown quarters.

When he was alive several tabloids sniffed around the story and Savile went public on many occasions brushing the allegations aside.

It was incredibly brazen. To highlight the allegations against himself and dismiss them and it showed the depth of his arrogance and belief he could get away with it.

And of course he did.

He died a hero leaving hundreds of victims behind.

It is a powerful lesson in how plausible he was and how gullible people are to a smooth-talking utterly assured pervert who dropped names of powerful people when any questions arose.

Jimmy Savile’s game is finally up but those who protected him through the years must carry their own guilt now for not facing down the serial pedophile.

And his victims must surely question an establishment that refused to listen to them and listened to a pervert instead.

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paddyRanger | Nov 02, 2012, 05:49 PM EDT

with the platinum hair and rose tinted glasses he is a dead ringer for SeanOMelb

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Watchman | Oct 29, 2012, 03:22 PM EDT

Unusually for you, Niall, you don't mention Saville's close connections with the Catholic Church, especially Scots-Irish bishops. Nor do you advert to his boast that he had "pull" with the IRA. Here's the way The Scottish Catholic Observer reported the great paeodphile's demise: "The popular Catholic DJ, entertainer and philanthropist passed away at his home in Leeds just two days before his 85th birthday. His funeral was at St Anne’s Catholic Cathedral in Leeds on Wednesday. "Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Britain’s most senior Catholic clergyman, spoke of his friendship with the entertainer while Tom Allen, financial trustee of Across, the charity that takes seriously ill or disabled pilgrims to Lourdes by Jumbulance, said he had been a patron of the charity and was a great loss. “'My friendship with Jimmy Savile developed over many years since I was assistant priest in St Patrick’s Parish, Kilsyth, along with the parish priest, the then Fr Denis O’Connell,' Cardinal O’Brien said.

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seamus60 | Oct 29, 2012, 03:21 PM EDT

Realist. Same differance.lol

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Realist | Oct 28, 2012, 05:42 PM EDT

Niall: The photo is of Savile receiving his Papal knighthood from the Pope. Does anyone ever check the facts on this site?

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seamus60 | Oct 28, 2012, 04:25 PM EDT

Anyone found to be involved in the suppression of what was going on should be before the courts. Sadly that number will be greatly reduced by his death and whatever other reasons they can come up with to shelter high profilers..

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Towngate | Oct 27, 2012, 10:15 AM EDT

Well said. He stated quite openly once that if he 'went down' he would take half the station with him! He did not mean the TV station. A lot of cops are trembling and fearing for their pensions!

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