Pop mogul Jonathan King in court to face historic sex abuse charges

Former pop mogul Jonathan King has appeared in court accused of sexually abusing nine teenage boys during his music career.

The 72-year-old allegedly attacked a 16-year-old boy in 1970 and carried out a string of sex assaults on eight victims between 1978 and 1988.

He has been charged by Surrey Police through Operation Ravine, an investigation into claims of sexual abuse at the Walton Hop Disco in Walton-on-Thames.

King, appearing under his real name Kenneth George King, wore a suit and Nike trainers and smiled as he confirmed his identity from the dock.

Prosecutor Deborah Jeffrey said: “Mr King faces 18 charges in relation to historic allegations of sexual assault by nine different men.”

King, who lives in Bayswater, claims to have discovered Genesis in the Sixties as a fledgling music producer, and went on to produce hits for 10cc and the Bay City Rollers. He was a Top of the Pops regular in the Eighties and in the 1990s produced the Brit Awards.

King’s lawyer Steven Bird told the court he intends to fight the charges.

District Judge Emma Arbuthnot freed King on bail to appear at Southwark crown court on July 24.