By Mike McCarthy, North Of England Correspondent
Who is Michael Turner? For the jury it's a question that has dominated all others in his sex abuse trial where he has now been found not guilty.
The prosecution urged jurors to forget the soap star who goes by the stage name Le Vell.
The judge said they should discount the familiar face known to millions of Coronation Street followers.
It sounded straight forward but psychologist Cary Cooper said that in general we believe, initially at least, an actor's on-screen persona.
"I think when we meet celebrities we are first I think influenced by our kind of stereotype of them, by the role that they're playing, by the image they project, by the image the media project of them," he said.
"But ultimately when we actually meet them we are computing in our brain different bits of information that may disconfirm our stereotypes, our positive or even negative feelings about them.
"So, as human beings we're taking this information in. We won't be influenced by a stereotype."
The camera flashes and media scrum that accompanied the actor each day of his trial seemed to belong more to the world of Michael Le Vell.
But once inside Manchester Crown Court he was stripped of his celebrity status and stood in the dock as plain Michael Turner.
Le Vell pictured outside courtExcept he was not so plain. Even by his own admission the defendant struggled with a serious drink problem twice attending Alcoholics Anonymous.
His own barrister Alisdair Williamson QC accepted that his client was "a weak and stupid man".
The jury were told that Le Vell had cheated on his wife with a series of one-night stands and even had an affair as she was going through chemotherapy - but never a child abuser, the lawyer argued.
After being confronted by the alleged victim's mother in 2011, Michael Le Vell texted a message saying: "Make sure she knows the magnitude of her lies. This is like a life-changing thing. It could cost me my job. It's not just a schoolyard story."
The chilling allegations were outlined in detail as the girl gave evidence in the witness box.
She said: "He put one of my favourite teddies over my mouth so that I could still breathe but couldn't say anything. He said he was getting rid of all the evil and bad inside me."
The court heard that she came forward after attending a seminar by life coach Ali Campbell on how to move forward in life and shed past "baggage".
By this time the girl was a teenager but she said that the actor had been abusing her since she was six years old.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided in 2011 not to proceed with the case but changed its mind just over a year later after a review.
In the intervening period a national debate promoted by the Jimmy Savile case, which was entirely unconnected to Michael Le Vell's proceedings, led to fundamental changes in the way prosecuting authorities dealt with alleged victims of child abuse.
Criminologist and child abuse expert Mark Williams-Thomas said: "Police have had a big involvement (in the general change of procedure) looking back at some of the past cases, reconsidering whether or not they took the right evidence in the first place.
"We have seen a complete shift in the approach to victims as well - giving victims more power."
After the CPS decision not to go ahead with Michael Le Vell's case his alleged victim came forward with more evidence.
It might have been enough for the CPS to overturn its original ruling but it was not enough to convince the jury.
Michael Le Vell is now free - and wants to return to the role for which he is best known - the flawed, the imperfect but ultimately innocent Kevin Webster.
Not so far removed it seems from Michael Turner - the man who plays the part.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Le Vell Stripped Of Celebrity Status In Court
Dengan url
http://yojanganmenyerah.blogspot.com/2013/09/le-vell-stripped-of-celebrity-status-in.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Le Vell Stripped Of Celebrity Status In Court
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Le Vell Stripped Of Celebrity Status In Court
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar