PETER MACBETH, THE BANGOR-BASED 60S POP STAR, JAILED FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES

In October 2016, Peter MacBeth, a 79-year-old former pop star from Bangor and founding member of The Foundations, was sentenced to a total of 34 months in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a young girl. MacBeth, who lived on High Street in Bangor, was previously known for his role as bassist and for hits like Build Me Up Buttercup. His legal troubles date back to 2008 when he was jailed for sexually abusing another young girl and for downloading child abuse images.

Today’s conviction involved allegations that he sexually assaulted a girl aged six or seven, pulling down her underwear and fondling her, as heard in Caernarfon Crown Court. The jury, after just over an hour of deliberation, found MacBeth guilty of indecent assault. It was also revealed that MacBeth had admitted to possessing 95 illegal images on two computers, which were discovered last year.

During the trial, MacBeth’s defense attorney, Duncan Bould, argued that the evidence against him was weak: "My suggestion is the evidence provided to you, unsupported by any other independent source, is inherently weak in this case and can’t make you sure of Mr MacBeth’s guilt." The victim testified that during her visit to MacBeth’s home with another girl, he had pulled down her underwear, and she described his actions as a sort of "tickling" of her intimate parts, adding, "He told us we mustn’t tell anybody. He obviously knew what he was doing."

The girl, now in her 20s, also reported that MacBeth had been "grooming" them, gifting her personal items and money, including an arts set. The victim’s mother recounted a more recent contact from her daughter’s friend, who called her upset and told her she had been abused. The woman described the girl’s difficulty in speaking and recollecting memories, saying, "She was so upset. It was hard for the words to get out. She had a lot of memories that were very cloudy. It was very difficult for her to speak."

Other testimony included troubling incidents, such as MacBeth placing coins in his trousers and asking girls to remove them, and owning Polaroid photographs of children making silly faces, presumably of children doing typical "kid things." When questioned about his actions, MacBeth denied indecently touching the girls or pulling down their clothing. He claimed an incident occurred where the girls pulled down their jogging pants and mooning at him, which he reprimanded.

He maintained his innocence regarding the previous case, explaining he was under stress about his throat cancer at the time, which he believed contributed to his guilty plea then, although he now disputes it. He also claimed to have lost confidence in his previous legal team.

Prosecutor Anna Pope argued that MacBeth demonstrated a sexual interest in children and that his prior convictions supported the claim that he acted upon that interest. Judge Merfyn Hughes QC urged the jury to approach the case "dispassionately." Upon returning a guilty verdict, the judge remarked to MacBeth, who has had a tracheotomy, "It’s clear you have very little insight into your offending behaviour and you have no intention of addressing your risk to children." He also noted that the lengthy delay in delivering justice was an aggravating factor, emphasizing, "It’s a sad case in particular for those two young girls."

In a separate but related context, back in June 2008, MacBeth, then aged 71 and suffering from terminal cancer, was sentenced in a different case where his original six-year sentence was later reduced to four years by the Court of Appeal in London. He had admitted to sexually abusing a girl multiple times, from when she was seven and again at age twelve, ending in 2005. He also downloaded child porn, with around 500 images found on his computer.

The court learned MacBeth had been diagnosed with larynx cancer in 2000, and by 2006 was undergoing a tracheotomy, losing his voice and being told he had three to five years to live. The appellate judges concluded that his original sentence was excessively harsh considering the circumstances, and reduced it accordingly. Lord Justice Scott Baker stated, "Looking at this case from the viewpoint of totality, the sentence of six years was significantly too long... The right total sentence is four years in prison."

Judge Rogers later sentenced MacBeth in 2008 to five years for four indecency offences plus a consecutive 12 months for child pornography, taking into account his age and health. The court also ordered MacBeth to register as a sex offender for life, acknowledging the severe impact of his crimes and his ongoing health issues.