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| Rolf Harris trial: Hospital visit 'gave no cause for concern' | Rolf Harris trial: Hospital visit 'gave no cause for concern' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A man who was in a room where Rolf Harris allegedly groped a blind, disabled woman has told a court he saw nothing to give him cause for concern. | A man who was in a room where Rolf Harris allegedly groped a blind, disabled woman has told a court he saw nothing to give him cause for concern. |
| The ex-TV star and artist is accused of assaulting the woman at Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, in 1977. | The ex-TV star and artist is accused of assaulting the woman at Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, in 1977. |
| A witness told Southwark court he had welcomed Mr Harris into the room where the alleged assault took place but did not see or hear anything untoward. | A witness told Southwark court he had welcomed Mr Harris into the room where the alleged assault took place but did not see or hear anything untoward. |
| Mr Harris denies seven indecent assault charges and one of sexual assault. | Mr Harris denies seven indecent assault charges and one of sexual assault. |
| The woman, who has been disabled since birth, was totally blind and had to walk with a stick when the indecent assault allegedly took place. | The woman, who has been disabled since birth, was totally blind and had to walk with a stick when the indecent assault allegedly took place. |
| Giving evidence on Monday, the woman - 27 at the time of the alleged assault - had told the court Mr Harris had swooped on her like a "hawk pouncing on his prey", leaving her "completely and utterly trapped" during the incident. | Giving evidence on Monday, the woman - 27 at the time of the alleged assault - had told the court Mr Harris had swooped on her like a "hawk pouncing on his prey", leaving her "completely and utterly trapped" during the incident. |
| 'Nothing reported' | 'Nothing reported' |
| The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the jury how he had welcomed the entertainer into the hospital room where the complainant was. | The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the jury how he had welcomed the entertainer into the hospital room where the complainant was. |
| He told the court he would have been paying "very little" attention to the pair. | He told the court he would have been paying "very little" attention to the pair. |
| Prosecutor Jonathan Rees asked: "In the course of that period he was in your company, can you recall any event that gave you cause for concern?" | Prosecutor Jonathan Rees asked: "In the course of that period he was in your company, can you recall any event that gave you cause for concern?" |
| The witness, who was in his late teens or early 20s at the time of the alleged assault, said: "I saw nothing that gave me cause for concern or heard anything that gave me cause for concern. | The witness, who was in his late teens or early 20s at the time of the alleged assault, said: "I saw nothing that gave me cause for concern or heard anything that gave me cause for concern. |
| "I can't recall anything being reported to me, by anybody, of any concern." | "I can't recall anything being reported to me, by anybody, of any concern." |
| He told the court that included the complainant. | He told the court that included the complainant. |
| Stephen Vullo, defending, asked the witness if "at any point" he had seen Mr Harris stand up, walk behind the complainant's chair, crouch down and "grab both her breasts". | Stephen Vullo, defending, asked the witness if "at any point" he had seen Mr Harris stand up, walk behind the complainant's chair, crouch down and "grab both her breasts". |
| He answered: "I do not recall that happening." | He answered: "I do not recall that happening." |
| The witness said he did not remember discussing with the woman about whether she should ring the police. | The witness said he did not remember discussing with the woman about whether she should ring the police. |
| Asked by Mr Vullo if he was certain, he replied: "Yes, I am sure." | Asked by Mr Vullo if he was certain, he replied: "Yes, I am sure." |
| Meanwhile, a woman told the court how Mr Harris had groped her when she was a teenager helping on the TV programme Star Games, in 1978. | |
| She demonstrated to the jury how Mr Harris had put his arm around her and "lifted my breast" with his hand. | |
| "I did not have any doubt at that point that he had deliberately groped me. I felt unhappy and I did not want to be there any more," she said. | "I did not have any doubt at that point that he had deliberately groped me. I felt unhappy and I did not want to be there any more," she said. |
| 'Dirty old man' | 'Dirty old man' |
| Asked how she knew the touching had been deliberate, she added: "Because he didn't just graze my breast, he clearly touched it. | |
| "He didn't apologise or look embarrassed or pull away, he just pulled me further into him." | |
| She said the pair had been in a taxi later in the day when Mr Harris put his hand on her knee and slid it between her legs. | |
| She told the jury how she had sworn at him. | She told the jury how she had sworn at him. |
| Asked how long his hand remained there, she said: "Not long, I pulled if off. It was the first time in my life I used the F-word at an adult." | Asked how long his hand remained there, she said: "Not long, I pulled if off. It was the first time in my life I used the F-word at an adult." |
| Later that night, she told her father she had discovered Mr Harris was "a dirty old man". | Later that night, she told her father she had discovered Mr Harris was "a dirty old man". |
| Mr Harris is appearing in court via video link from Stafford Prison, where he is serving a sentence for a series of offences of indecent assault carried out on four female victims. | Mr Harris is appearing in court via video link from Stafford Prison, where he is serving a sentence for a series of offences of indecent assault carried out on four female victims. |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |