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Rolf Harris trial: Ex-TV star 'groped teenager in taxi' | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A woman who alleges she was groped by Rolf Harris has told his trial how the ex-TV presenter thrust his hand between her legs while in the back of a taxi. | |
The woman, who says she was indecently assaulted at the TV show Star Games in 1978, told Southwark Crown Court the alleged attack was "humiliating". | |
Earlier, a man said he had seen nothing untoward in a hospital room where Mr Harris allegedly groped a blind woman. | |
Mr Harris denies seven indecent assault charges and one of sexual assault. | Mr Harris denies seven indecent assault charges and one of sexual assault. |
'Dirty old man' | |
Giving evidence, a woman told the court how Mr Harris had groped her while she was helping on a It's A Knockout-style show, Star Games. | |
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 told the court. | |
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. | |
The witness said she had then sworn at him. | |
Asked how long his hand remained there, she said: "Not long, I pulled it off. It was the first time in my life I used the F-word at an adult." | |
She said that later on the same day, she told her father that Mr Harris was "a dirty old man". | |
Questions about why she told the jury details that had not been in her police statement, she said: "It's not the sort of detail you tell to men you have never met before. | |
"I would never do it again. I am trying to tell the truth now." | |
She added: "It was humiliating and it is humiliating to tell it in public." | |
Earlier. a witness who was in a room at Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, where Mr Harris allegedly groped a blind, disabled woman told a court he saw nothing to give him cause for concern. | |
The woman, who has been disabled since birth, was blind and had to walk with a stick when the indecent assault allegedly took place in 1977. | |
Giving evidence on Monday, she 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." |
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. |