DJ Travis faces UK sex assault retrial
British disc jockey Dave Lee Travis says his personal “nightmare” is going to continue after he found out he faces a retrial on two sexual assault charges.
Travis, 68, one of the biggest names in British broadcasting in the 1970s and 1980s, was found not guilty of 12 indecent assault charges earlier this month following a four-week trial.
However, jurors could not agree a verdict on two other counts against the former BBC presenter, one of indecent assault and another of sexual assault.
“The prosecution is seeking a retrial for two outstanding counts,” prosecutor Miranda Moore told Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday, as Travis looked on from the dock.
Judge Anthony Leonard told the DJ: “You are to return to this court on the 28th of March. You are re-admitted to bail as before.”
Travis, who counted Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi among his fans, faces a two-week retrial at a date yet to be set.
Speaking outside court, the presenter recalled telling reporters that he had been through “a year and a half of hell” after being cleared of 12 counts.
“I told you that I’d been through 18 months of a nightmare and apparently I was wrong because the nightmare is now going to go on,” he said.
“All I can say is that this whole thing started when I was 67. And I just hope it’s going to end by the time I’m 80.”
Travis said after the trial that he had sold his house to fund his defence, and had lost his reputation too.
“I don’t feel like there’s a victory in any way, shape or form,” he told reporters.