Stuart Hall cleared of raping two young girls

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Essen from Lancashire Constabulary said: "I respect the verdicts reached by the jurytoday and I thank them for giving these matters their consideration.

Whenever anyone comes forward to the police to report allegations of a sexual nature it is absolutely right that we carry out a professional investigation, which is what we have done in this case. We have recognised and considered the views and needs of the victims throughout this investigation.

We have worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service throughout and all of the evidence was subject to careful scrutiny before a decision was taken to charge, in the belief that there was a realistic prospect of conviction.

Lancashire Constabulary remains committed to investigating allegations of this nature, no matter how historic, and no matter who the alleged offender, and we would encourage anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence to come forward."

Following the Stuart Hall case Adam Pemberton, assistant chief executive at Victim Support, said: "It takes tremendous courage to come forward and make a complaint about historical sexual abuse, and huge strength to give evidence in public before a packed court.

Victims are scared they won't be believed and will be failed by the criminal justice system. It would be a tragedy if anyone decided not to seek help or justice because of a single case, verdict or incident, however high profile.

Victim Support helped the women who testified against Stuart Hall through its Witness Service. We are committed to ensuring victims of historical sexual abuse everywhere get the help they need to give the best possible evidence in court."

January 1, 2012 - Hall is appointed OBE in the New Year's Honours list for services to broadcasting and charity.

December 5, 2012 - Hall is arrested and questioned on suspicion of historic sex offences. The following day he is charged with three counts of indecent assault

December 7, 2012 - first appearance at Preston Magistrates' Court to plead not guilty to the charges. His solicitor issues a statement: "Stuart Hall is innocent of these charges."

January 22, 2013 - Hall is re-arrested and charged with more offences, 14 of indecent assault and 1 of rape.

February 7, 2013 - Hall appears at Preston Magistrates' Court facing the additional charges. After the hearing he vows to fight these "pernicious, callous, cruel and above all spurious allegations".

February 19, 2013 - Hall's lawyers approach prosecution offering guilty pleas.

April 16, 2013 - Hall pleads guilty to 14 charges of indecent assault against girls as young as nine, between 1967 and 1985.

May 2, 2013 - Reporting restrictions lifted on his guilty pleas after Crown Prosecution Service decide not to pursue an allegation of rape.

May 6, 2013 - BBC announce investigation into his activities while working at the corporation.

June 17, 2013 - Hall is jailed for 15 months.

July 26, 2013 - His sentence is doubled in the Court of Appeal on the grounds it was too lenient.

September 26, 2013 - Lancashire Police confirm they are investigating new sex allegations.

October 23, 2013 - He is re-arrested at HMP Leyland and later charged with further sex offences.

February 28, 2014 - He denies 15 sex assault charges when he appears at Preston Crown Court.

May 6, 2014 - Hall goes on trial at the same court. He admits a single indecent assault charge but denies 15 specimen counts of rape and five indecent assaults.

May 16, 2014 - Hall is found not guilty of 15 counts of rape and four of indecent assault. He is convicted of one indecent assault.

A jury at Preston Crown Court found Hall, 84, not guilty of a string of historical allegations involving two under-age girls, dating back to the mid-1970s. He is serving a 30-month jail term after he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting 13 other young girls over a period of nearly 20 years.

At the beginning of his trial last week he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting one of the new complainants when she was aged 13.But he was cleared of 15 counts of rape and four of indecent assault today by the jury which convicted him of just one count of indecent assault.