Max Clifford jailed for eight years at Southwark Crown Court
The 71-year-old was convicted of eight counts of indecent assault
He was cleared of two other counts and jury failed to reach verdict on one
His wife Jo has been spotted out walking without her wedding ring
With no sign of her wedding ring, Max Clifford’s wife Jo spent the trial well away from the courtroom.
She
was ‘very, very angry’ and ‘just waiting for guilty verdicts and then
she’s going to divorce him for everything he’s got’, a friend said.
Mrs
Clifford – the publicist’s former PA whom he married in April 2010,
seven years after the death of his first wife, Liz – declined to comment
on the suggestion she has been speaking to top London divorce lawyer
Raymond Tooth.
Jo Clifford - the publicist's former PA whom he
married in April 2010, seven years after the death of his first wife,
Liz - declined to comment on the suggestion she has been speaking to top
London divorce lawyer Raymond Tooth
At her husband’s trial, she was not called as a character witness and did not attend court by his side as a show of support.
As
Clifford waited for the verdicts, his wife was strolling in the
Cotswolds village where she has a three-bedroom £600,000 stone cottage.
She fought back tears after hearing he had been convicted.
When asked if it was true she had left her husband, Mrs Clifford said: ‘I really can’t comment on that.’
The sex predator was jailed for eight years at Southwark Crown Court, for offences carried out between 1977 and 1984.
The PR guru pictured with his wife as arrived to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry at the High Court
Twenty-three women originally came forward – with prosecutors selecting the seven strongest cases to take to trial – and several others are understood to have come forward since.
Scotland Yard sources described the new allegations as ‘significant’ and said they would be taken ‘very seriously’ by police and prosecutors.
One said: ‘The evidence which emerged during the trial gave a number of women the confidence to come forward and make new allegations against him. Now that he has gone to jail, yet more victims may contact police.
‘Clifford was clearly a prolific offender and the idea he stopped attacking girls decades ago is difficult to believe.
As Clifford waited for the verdicts, his wife
was strolling in the Cotswolds village where she has a three-bedroom
£600,000 stone cottage. She fought back tears after hearing he had been
convicted
‘If anything, his arrogance – and the fact he kept getting away with it – are likely to have resulted in him committing more offences.’
Clifford repeatedly shook his head in the dock as he was sentenced for the eight sex attacks on four victims between 1977 and 1984.
The judge said that if the offences had taken place today – since sentencing guidelines were toughened in 2003 – Clifford would have been regarded as a multiple rapist for which he would have been locked up for life.
The maximum sentence for indecent assault at the time was two years.
For Clifford’s eight offences, the judge gave him a series of sentences of 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, six months, 21 months and 15 months, some to run concurrently and some consecutively, to arrive at a total of eight years. His lawyer said he might appeal.
| The Guardian | - |
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