British music mogul Jonathan King was jailed for seven years Wednesday for a series of sex offences against schoolboys.
King, one of the British pop industry's most flamboyant characters over the last four decades, looked shaken as Judge David Paget told him in London's Old Bailey court that he had used his celebrity to seduce the boys.
He told the impresario: "This was a serious breach of trust. You used your fame and success to attract adolescent and impressionable boys.
"You then abused the trust they and their parents placed in you."
The 56-year-old -- real name Kenneth George King -- was found guilty of a serious sexual offence, four indecent assaults, and an attempted serious sexual offence.
The offences were all committed against youths aged 14 to 16 between 1983 and 1989. King had denied all the charges.
In a long career in the music industry, King was head-hunted at the age of 23 to run Decca Records. He went on to set up his own label, UK Records, which became the most successful independent label in the business.
He also enjoyed a spell as a performer, scoring a huge worldwide hit with the song "Everyone's Gone To The Moon" in 1965 -- AFP
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