Raymond Teret (24 October 1941 – 5 May 2021) was an English radio disc jockey who started his career in the 1960s. In December 2014 he was convicted of rape and indecent assault, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison."Ray Teret jailed for 25 years over sexual abuse"
''The Guardian'' (Press Association), 11 December 2014 He died in prison in May 2021 at the age of 79, having served just over six years behind bars.

Early life and career

Teret was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and began work as a warehouse clerk, apprentice heating engineer and waiter at the Ritz Ballroom in Manchester. In the early 1960s, Teret met

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...

after winning the Savile-run singing contest at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

in Manchester. The two men later shared a flat on Great Clowes Street in Broughton, Salford, with Teret becoming Savile's support DJ, assistant and chauffeur. Teret joined Radio Caroline North in the mid-1960s, where he became known as "Ugli" Ray Teret. His theme music was "Jungle Fever" by the Tornados, and he also used "

The Ugly Bug Ball ''Summer Magic'' is a 1963 American musical film directed by James Neilson, and starring Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, and Dorothy McGuire in a story about an early 1900s Boston widow and her children taking up residence in a small town in Maine. T ...

" by Burl Ives. After leaving Radio Caroline North in 1966, two years before it closed down, Teret worked in a series of DJ- and media-related work, mainly on Piccadilly Radio in Manchester and Signal Radio in Stoke-on-Trent.

Sexual assaults

In 1999, when he was 58 years old, Teret was found guilty of unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl. On 8 November 2012, Teret was arrested at his home on Woodlands Road in Altrincham by Greater Manchester Police, one of two arrests made in connection with an allegation of historic rape. The offences are alleged to have taken place in Trafford in the 1960s and 1970s against three women who were then children. The arrests were not part of Operation Yewtree (the investigation into offences allegedly committed by Jimmy Savile and others) though Teret had been a close associate of Savile. In October 2014, Teret appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court accused of more than 30 offences of sexual abuse, including 18 charges of rape, some dating back to the 1960s. One of the charges related to an alleged offence committed by Teret and Savile together. Two other men, William Harper and Alan Ledger, were also charged, and were tried alongside Teret. All three men denied all the charges. In December Teret was found guilty of seven charges of rape and eleven charges of indecent assault, with one victim aged only 12. The other two defendants were found not guilty of all charges, and Teret was acquitted of assisting Savile to rape an alleged victim, but was found guilty of raping the same complainant himself. On 11 December 2014, Mr Justice Baker sentenced Teret to 25 years in prison. The judge said that it was likely that most, if not all, of his remaining years would be spent in prison, and that had Teret been convicted nearer the time of the offences, a life sentence would have been appropriate. A lawyer for 169 of Savile's victims stated that Teret's conviction represents "the closest the victims of Jimmy Savile will get to a conviction against their attacker". On 17 May 2015, a television programme detailing the investigation into the claims of historic sexual abuse against Teret was broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. ''

The Detectives A detective is a professional investigator. Detective(s) or The Detective(s) may also refer to: Films (Chronological) * ''Detectives'' (1928 film), an American silent comedy film by MGM, directed by Chester Franklin * ''Detective'' (1954 film) ...

'' depicted investigators discovering extensive graffiti dating to the 1960s and '70s behind the wallpaper in Teret's former apartment. The names, telephone numbers and other data in the graffiti both confirmed the testimony of victims and contradicted Teret's testimony that he did not know the victims.

Death

Teret died in prison in Manchester on 5 May 2021."Ray Teret: Former DJ jailed for raping girls dies in prison", ''BBC News'', 5 May 2021
Retrieved 6 May 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teret, Ray 1941 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English criminals English people convicted of indecent assault Chauffeurs Criminals from Wiltshire English people convicted of rape English people convicted of child sexual abuse English people who died in prison custody English radio DJs Jimmy Savile Offshore radio broadcasters People from Salisbury Pirate radio personalities Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention