Australian entertainer Rolf Harris has been found guilty on 12 charges relating to indecent assault.
The jury, comprised of six men and six women, delivered its verdict at Southwark Crown Court in London after hearing six weeks of evidence.
The entertainer, 84, was originally charged with 12 counts of indecent assault last year. The claims relate to alleged indecent assault over a 20-year period from 1968 to 1986 in the UK, in Australia, New Zealand and Malta.
Sentencing will occur on Friday, although Justice Sweeney said that a jail term was “uppermost in the court’s mind”.
Until Friday, Harris has been granted bail.
In the wake of the news of Rolf Harris’ guilt, there have been numerous reports detailing what was said during the trial – as well as what was not said.
Fairfax reported a moment when Harris was being cross examined by prosecutor Sasha Wass QC as the exchange that “may even have cost him his freedom”.
Wass was asking Harris about his attraction to a 13-year-old girl – who the friend of his daughter Bindi and 35 years younger than him – whom he spent time with on a family holiday.
This from the SMH:
“You were saying to (her) ‘you have got a great body’,” Ms Wass said.
It was just logical. Harris had to agree. Wass moved in for the kill.
“You admired her sexually… Saying ‘your body looks good in a bikini’, that’s a sexual remark.”
“In hindsight I suppose so,” Harris said.
“You admired (her) body sexually during that holiday,” Ms Wass said.
“It’s possible, yes,” Harris said.
The Daily Mail UK is reporting that “jail is inevitable” for the 84-year-old entertainer.
Justice Sweeney said when giving him bail this afternoon: ‘He will understand that in doing that I’m giving no indication whatsoever as to the nature of the sentence.
‘In reality, given the conviction on all 12 counts it’s inevitable that the type of sentence that is upper most in the court’s mind is a custodial sentence and he must understand that.’
Harris reporteldy left the court holding the hands of his wife and daughter. Ten News’ Angela Bishop was at the court and took this image:
Harris was originally under investigation as part of Operation Yewtree, the police enquiry that was prompted by the child abuse allegations against Jimmy Savile.
The case has been delayed several times by legal argument, by defence counsel Sonia Woodley QC suddenly falling ill and being hospitalised, and by prosecutor Sasha Wass QC and Judge Sweeney being called away for other duties.
Top Comments
Why do people just keep repeating the same basic statements in these forums? What's the point in typing it if you have nothing original to say. Or is it some form of group,therapy...
While everyone is busy getting on the hate bandwagon without thinking why they're doing it, has it actually passed anyones mind that the bulk of these charges had been tried twice in an Australian court and thrown out each time? Given the degree of difficulty encompassed in getting a prosecution for sexually based crimes here, one can assume that lawyers on both sides of the legal equation do a fairly thorough job! So what makes this trial so much better apart from the fact that the bulk of it was circumstantial and as one person has pointed, included behaviours that perhaps today would not be great to do but nonetheless would still not be a crime