London: Veteran BBC broadcaster Paul Gambaccini will not be charged over allegations of historic sexual offences because there is insufficient evidence to bring a case, British prosecutors and media reports said Friday.
The 65-year-old, who has joint US and British citizenship, was arrested in October 2013 as part of the police investigation into sex abuse set up after the scandal over late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile. Gambaccini was detained alongside another man, now aged 75, over offences alleged to have taken place over a two-year period in the early 1980s.
The allegations were made by two males who were aged between 14 and 15 at the time. In a statment, the Crown Prosecution Service did not name either man being investigated and gave only their ages, but media reports said one of those cleared was Gambaccini.
"We have concluded that the available evidence does not offer a realistic prospect of conviction for any of the alleged offences," said Baljit Ubhey, the chief public prosecutor for London. Gambaccini had always denied the allegations.
Having earned a reputation as the "Professor of Pop" following his 1968 radio debut, the broadcaster went on to host classical music programmes. Most recently, he hosted weekly quiz "Counterpoint" on BBC Radio 4.
Gambaccini was a vocal figure after the Savile scandal erupted in 2012, saying it was known among BBC staff that the late presenter targeted vulnerable young people. Savile was one of the BBC's top stars for decades but it was revealed after his death in 2011 that he was a predatory paedophile and sex offender.
