Ex-Radio 1 DJ abused young boys

Chris Denning was jailed for child sex abuse in the Czech Republic

A former Radio 1 DJ has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to child abuse during the 1970s and 80s.

Chris Denning, 64, of Weybridge, Surrey, admitted five charges of indecent assault on boys under 16 when he appeared at Kingston Crown Court.

Another four indecent assault charges were left to lie on file.

Denning, who will have to sign the sex offenders' register on his release, worked for the BBC in the late 1960s and was on the Radio 1 launch team.

He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on 18 August 2005 after returning to England from Austria.

Surrey Police had previously failed to have him extradited from the Czech Republic in 2001.

'Appalling' crimes

Denning was targeted as part of the same Surrey Police inquiry which saw music producer Jonathan King convicted of child abuse.

Det Insp Jo Sidaway said: "This has been a long and complex investigation.

"The crimes Christopher Denning committed some decades ago have had a lasting effect on his victims and I hope this development will go some way to helping them cope with the appalling way in which they were treated."

All the sexual assaults took place in the south of England.

Denning was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, Surrey Police said.

The judge said he should not be allowed to work with children after his release, or make contact or be left alone in a room with boys under the age of 16.