Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

'You've brought shame on us all:' Angry family members target Jimmy Savile's great-niece on Facebook after she speaks out about the star molesting her

Revelations came the same day as Jimmy Savile’s Scottish holiday home is attacked by vandals

John Hall
Monday 29 October 2012 14:26 GMT
Comments
Slogans painted on Alt-na-reigh, the cottage owned by Jimmy Savile
Slogans painted on Alt-na-reigh, the cottage owned by Jimmy Savile (Getty Images)

Relatives of Jimmy Savile’s great-niece have reportedly attacked her on Facebook for speaking out about the star molesting her.

The abuse comes after Caroline Robinson claimed that as a 12-year-old she was abused in a room full of relatives, including her late-grandmother - Savile’s sister - who told her “don’t worry, it’s only Jimmy”.

But far from rallying round to support the 49-year-old, who claims she was abused by Savile for a second time when aged 15, Mrs Robinson says her living relatives have instead taken to Facebook to accuse her of lying and “bringing shame on the family”.

Mrs Robinson’s brother Martin Perry allegedly posted: “You are not right in the head.”

He went on: “You have brought shame on all the Marsdens by lying, there will be a nice long line of people wanting to smack you…Never again will I think I have a sister.”

Her niece Louise Perry added: “No one in the family has a clue what you are on about. For you to paint such an awful picture of the family is beyond my belief.”

And Jane Perry, married to Mrs Robinson’s other brother Philip, said: “What a load of bollocks.”

Speaking to the Sun, Mrs Robinson said: “It’s just disgusting. They are the very people I thought I would get support from. I expected it from other folk who did not know but from family is different.”

Mrs Robinson has reported the Facebook abuse to the police, but an officer visiting her home apparently told her there was little they could do.

Mrs Robinson, a married mother of four, claims Savile first inappropriately touched her when she was sat on his knee at a family gathering aged 12.

She said other family members were unaware of the abuse at the time, but when she told her grandmother - Savile’s sister Majorie Marsden - her claims were ignored.

Mrs Robinson says this was because Savile paid for the family’s holidays and the home they lived in.

Last week she told ITV’s This Morning: “If we blabbed on Jimmy or told tales, the fame that surrounded him would've gone. And I loved to say that Jimmy Savile is my Uncle - it made me proud.”

“But for him to suddenly be destroyed over something like this, the family would have had nothing.”

Reports of the Facebook abuse came on the same day vandals attacked Savile’s former holiday home in the Scottish village of Glencoe.

Graffiti, including the words ‘Jimmy the beast’, were daubed on the whitewashed walls of the house – which is thought to be where the disgraced star abused dozens of children over the decades.

What appear to be Masonic symbols were also sprayed on the walls, and the building's doors were also badly damaged.

The incident was reported at around 7.30am yesterday by a passer-by, with other witnesses adding they saw three men in their 20s throwing stones at the building and spraying graffiti.

A black car with its doors wide open was also seen parked outside the house.

Last week officers searched the cottage, called Alt-na-reigh, to look for 'any evidence of any others being involved in any offending with him.'

Frozen in time, Savile’s hairbrush, paperwork, smoking paraphernalia and even biscuits were left scattered around the cottage exactly as he left them.

Other rooms in the cottage, where Savile once entertained Prince Charles over dinner in 1999, contained bunk beds and a double bed all made up neatly with fresh bed linen.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in