The man is not guilty in the BBC Criminal Damage

A man has not guilty that he had damaged a stone sculpture outside the BBC headquarters in London that cost repair of more than £ 150,000. 58-year-old David Chick from Bozeat in Northamptonshire is accused of destroying the statue of class II in May 2023 in the center of London in class II.

The sculpture with Prospero and Ariel from Shakespears The Temest was commissioned by the BBC and carved by Gill, a popular artist of the 20th century. After Gill died in 1940, his diaries showed amazing reports of sexual abuse against his daughters.

Chick was already charged with an earlier incident in 2022, in which he supposedly damaged the same statue. Judge David Tomlinson agreed to merge the two cases at a hearing in front of the Southwark Crown Court. The judge said that the indictment was “not of the same or very similar nature, but indeed identical crimes”.

Chick appeared in court and wore a black sweater with a red Spiderman logo and only spoke to confirm his name and not guilty, to cause criminal damage over £ 5,000. Judge Tomlinson granted Chick deposit and ordered him not to come from the statue within 100 meters. A negotiation date was set at the same court for May next year.

The statue installed in 1933 shows a young naked male figure with an older male figure in the background. The work of art is considered a London landmark.

Eric Gill was born in 1882 and was a sculptor and typographer, who created great sculptures for the Westminster cathedral and the original London Underground headquarters. He also designed the widespread Gill -San's script. But his personal life was clouded by controversy according to a biography that was published in 1989, in which his diaries were described, including the approval of sexual abuse, an incestuous relationship with his sister and other disgust with a pet in the family. Despite his artistic talent, Gill's personal life has raised questions about the separation of the work of an artist from her character.

A negotiation date was determined for May 6th next year.

Top photo: Eric Gill Prospero and Ariel of Shakespeares The Tempest © Artlyst 2025

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BBC, criminal damage, Eric Gill, Prospero and Ariel