Max Clifford set to appeal his eight year prison sentence for string of indecent assaults today
The 71-year-old media mogul was convicted of a number of historic offences between 1977 and 1984
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Your support makes all the difference.Max Clifford, the disgraced PR guru found guilty of a string of indecent assaults in May, it set to appeal his eight year prison sentence today.
The 71-year-old media mogul was convicted of a number of historic offences between 1977 and 1984, during which time he used his status in the entertainment industry to take advantage of young aspiring women.
Judge Anthony Leonard, who handed down Clifford’s sentence at Southwark Crown Court, said that his high social standing and deceptive personality were partly why his crimes had gone undetected for so long.
"The reason why they were not brought to light sooner was because of your own dominant character and your position in the world of entertainment which meant that your victims thought that you were untouchable, something that I think you too believed," he said.
Passing sentence at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Anthony Leonard told Clifford his personality and position in the public eye were the reasons his crimes were not revealed earlier.
"These offences may have taken place a long time ago, when inappropriate and trivial sexual behaviour was more likely to be tolerated, but your offending was not trivial, but of a very serious nature."
Because of the years Clifford’s offenses were committed, the judge charged Clifford under the 1956 act, which carries a maximum sentence of two years for each charge.
The maximum term under legislation passed in 2003 would have been 10 years.
Clifford had branded his accusers "fantasists" throughout his trial.
"I stand by everything I have said in the last 17 months," he said in a statement to reporters ahead of his sentencing.
Since then, his wife, Jo Clifford, has filed for divorce.
The pair married in April 2010 after Jo worked as Clifford’s PA, but she was a notable absence throughout Clifford’s trial and has not spoken in public since his conviction.
Clifford’s appeal will be heard by Lord Justice Treacy, Mr Justice Turner and Judge Michael Pert at the Court of Appeal in London.