Report: Culture at BBC prevented Sexual Predator Jimmy Savile from getting caught

A culture of fear prevented the BBC, one of Britain's top broadcasters, from properly investigating the sexual abuse claims that were filed against, Jimmy Savile, a famous TV and radio personality, a new report commissioned by the BBC concluded.

In the report, Dame Janet Smith, who was once a Court of Appeal judge, detailed how the late Savile, who is now known one of the nation's most prolific sex offenders, was able to get away with sexually abusing girls and boys throughout his career. It was only after his death in 2011 when a proper investigation was started.

In Smith's review she cited a total of 117 employees who said they heard rumors about Savile's inappropriate actions. Some of the employees had also been aware of the many sexual complaints that were filed against him. Despite all of the signs, nothing was done because of what Smith is calling a culture of fear within the institution.

She explained that the fear of criticizing a huge celebrity was strong enough to stop people from going to their superiors or to members of law enforcement. Instead of addressing the issues upfront, the employees had treated complaints that came their way as a mere "nuisance."

"The evidence I heard suggested that the talent was treated with kid gloves and rarely challenged," Smith said. "There was a feeling of reverence for them and a fear that, if a star were crossed, he or she might leave the BBC."

In her investigation, Smith identified a total of 72 victims, with eight of them classified as rapes. Smith said that many of the victims were very young, with the youngest being eight-years-old. She also found that there were five missed opportunities of stopping Savile, who "would gratify himself sexually on BBC premises whenever the opportunity arose."

Smith did not find the institution guilty of covering up Savile's actions because the institution's senior managers had never been notified.

Savile's scandal became very public in 2012 when the police stated that Savile had sexually abused more than 100 victims. The police added that some of the abuse of his younger victims had occurred at hospitals where he had volunteered for charity.

BBC's director-general, Tony Hall apologized to Savile's victims, stating, "What this terrible episode tells us is that fame is power, a very strong form of power. And like all power it must be held to account. It must be challenged and it must be scrutinized. And it wasn't."

Smith's report took two-and-a-half years to finish and cost $9 million.