Former British pop mogul Jonathan King walked free from jail today proclaiming his innocence after serving half of a seven-year jail term for sexually abusing children.
King (60) who topped the charts and discovered bands like Genesis and 10cc in the 1960s and 1970s, was convicted in September 2001 on one serious sexual offence, four indecent assaults and an attempted serious sexual offence against several 14- and 15-year-olds.
He emerged from Maidstone prison shortly after 6am this morning, smiling and giving the thumbs up sign for the photographers.
"I've had an absolutely brilliant three-and-a-half years for crimes I did not commit," he told waiting reporters.
"I'm totally, absolutely, 100 per cent innocent of the convictions and my lawyer . . . guarantees me that the conviction will be quashed on appeal."
King will be put on parole with a series of conditions that are expected to include a ban on working with children, staying at a specified address and not receiving visits from anyone under 18 without permission.
But he said he expected to be busy, releasing a new single and campaigning for people falsely accused of crimes. "I've been as impressed by the prison service as I've been depressed by the police," he said.