Rolf Harris guilty of indecent assault

Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris, a household name in Britain since the 1960s, could face jail after his conviction Monday (June 30) on 12 counts of indecently assaulting girls.

Australian-born Harris, 84 – a TV presenter, artist and performer of amusing songs like “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” – was found guilty of all the charges against him after a six-week trial.

He assaulted four girls and young women aged from seven to 19 between 1968 and 1986, including his daughter Bindi’s childhood best friend, a London court found.

Harris’s conviction represents a spectacular fall from grace for one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers.

Known for his catchphrase “Can you tell what it is yet?” he painted Queen Elizabeth II on her 80th birthday, hosted popular BBC television show “Animal Hospital” and performed at the Glastonbury music festival.

He was made a CBE in 2006 – one of the highest honours the queen can bestow – and performed at a concert marking the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee outside Buckingham Palace in 2012.

Harris is the second person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree, the high-profile police investigation set up in 2012 after allegations that the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile was a prolific sex offender.

Harris was released on bail until Friday when he will be sentenced.

Judge Nigel Sweeney warned him that a jail term was a strong possibility, but his state of health would be assessed first.

Source: AFP