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Former BBC DJ Tim Westwood denies 17 sex offence charges

Summarised from 7 outlets · Updated 12 Nov, 11:58 · Archive

Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood, 69, has denied two additional sex offences and now faces 17 charges involving nine women spanning 1983 to 2016.

Tim Westwood, the former BBC Radio 1 and Capital Xtra DJ, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday to answer two additional sexual offence charges. The 69-year-old pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting a teenage girl aged 16 or 17 in Hammersmith and Fulham, west London, in 1991. He also denied sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman in Wandsworth, south London, in May 2004.

Westwood now denies a total of 17 charges relating to alleged offences against nine women spanning from 1983 to 2016. He was charged in October last year with offences against seven women, all of which he denied. The latest charges were issued in September.

According to the court, Westwood is accused of four indecent assaults in the 1980s in London, and three indecent assaults at the BBC in the 1990s. He is also alleged to have raped a woman in a hotel in 1996. From the early 2000s, he faces accusations of two indecent assaults and one count of rape at a London address. He is further accused of two counts of rape at a London address in the 2010s. Additional allegations include a sexual assault at a nightclub in Stroud, Gloucestershire, in 2010, and at a London music festival in 2016.

Westwood was granted conditional bail. He is due to face a seven-week trial at Southwark Crown Court starting on 27 January, where he will answer all 17 charges. He has entered not guilty pleas to all counts.

Westwood was a prominent figure in UK hip-hop radio during his career. He worked on Capital FM from 1987 until 1994 before moving to BBC Radio 1 to launch his Rap Show, which became the top-ranked hip-hop show in the UK. He also presented Radio 1Xtra's weekday drivetime show from 2009 until 2012. Westwood left the BBC in 2013 after nearly two decades and rejoined Capital FM via sister station Capital Xtra. He stepped down from his Capital radio show in April 2022.

Former BBC DJ Tim Westwood denies 17 sex offence charges
Image: The Guardian

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How it is being reported

In this story: Tim Westwood · BBC Radio 1 · Capital Xtra · Southwark Crown Court · Hammersmith and Fulham · Wandsworth · London · Stroud

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