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Founding Bassist Of 70s Rock Band, Saxon, Jailed For S3xually Assaulting 6-year-old Girl

Published

1 year ago

April 16, 2024

The founding member and former bassist of Saxon, one of the UK’s most successful heavy metal bands, has been jailed for assaulting a six-year-old girl.

Stephen Dawson, 72, was sentenced to five years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court after he was convicted of four counts of indecent assault of a child under 14.

The rock band, which was formed in Barnsley, South Yorks, sold over 23 million records and its eccentric musicians later inspired the cult mockumentary ‘This is Spinal Tap’.

Dawson’s former bandmates, including Saxon co-founder and guitarist Graham Oliver, said they were left ‘shocked’, ‘sickened’, and ‘disgusted’ at his actions.

The abuse took place in the 1990s following Dawson’s dismissal from the band in 1986, with Oliver saying they hoped the victim had ‘closure’ following the ordeal.

His statement read: ‘To say we are all shocked and disgusted by Dawson’s actions is an understatement.

Founding bassist of 70s rock band, Saxon, is jailed for s3xually assaulting 6-year-old girl as former bandmates say they are

‘While these vile offences occurred post-Saxon and pre Son of a Bitch/Oliver Dawson Saxon era, we are all sickened by his predatory behaviour against a small child, and hope this prison sentence gives his victim some closure on her terrible ordeal.’

Dawson founded Saxon with Oliver in 1976 before Peter ‘Biff’ Byford joined on vocals and Paul Quinn came in on guitar.

And he helped write hits including ‘747 Strangers in the Night’ and ‘Freeway Mad’ off their 1980 platinum record, ‘Wheels of Steel’.

Dawson was also thought to be the inspiration behind the fictional character Derek Smalls, played by Harry Shearer in the film This Is Spinal Tap, released in 1984.

He remained with the group until 1986 when he was reportedly fired due to arguments with his fellow musicians.

Dawson, from Rotherham, was originally found guilty on March 21 before being given his custodial sentence this week.

Following the verdict, Detective Constable Robert Heath, from South Yorkshire Police, said his victim had demonstrated ‘extraordinary strength’.

He said: ‘Stephen Dawson thought he had got away with committing these horrific crimes against a young, vulnerable victim 30 years ago.

‘She has shown extraordinary strength through coming forward and throughout the course of the investigation, resulting in Dawson spending a number of years in prison.

‘It is clear that his evil acts have remained with her throughout her life, and I hope this sentence goes some way to allowing her to move on from these traumatic events.

‘The result of this case demonstrates just how seriously we take these offences.

‘We hope this provides some encouragement that if you have been subjected to any offence, no matter how long ago it happened, to come forward and report it to us.

‘We are here to listen, investigate and bring the perpetrators before courts.’

Headline

US Opposes Palestinian State Recognition, Says It’s Reward For Hamas

Published

36 minutes ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

United States President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where they discussed differing views on the future of Gaza and Palestinian statehood.

CNN reports that Trump rejected the two-state solution to the crisis in Gaza, saying the idea portrays “reward” for Hamas.

France recently joined the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal to officially recognise the Palestinian state.

Trump opened the Tuesday bilateral meeting by praising Macron’s diplomatic efforts, claiming the French leader had helped him prevent global conflicts.

“Emmanuel has actually helped me with a couple of the wars,” Trump said, in response to Macron’s recent remark that if the US president wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he should “put an end to the war in Gaza.”

When asked about Palestinian statehood, and his latest remarks, it would be a “gift to Hamas,” Trump again pushed back strongly.

“Well, I think it honors Hamas, and you can’t do that because of October 7. You can’t do that. But we want our hostages back,” Trump said.

“You always have to remember, people forget October 7 was one of the most savage days in the history of the world,” the US president said.

In response, Macron, seated beside Trump, emphasised that recognising a Palestinian state does not mean ignoring Hamas’ October 2023 attacks on Israel.

The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas militant group attacked Israel, which has since launched offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation.

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Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Is Dead

Published

14 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz, has died at the age of 82.

According to a statement from the Royal Court, the revered cleric passed away on Tuesday morning.

Born in Mecca in November 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz rose to become one of the most influential religious authorities in the Kingdom.

He served as head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, as well as the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League.

Headline

Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.

Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.

Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.

Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.

Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

AFP