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| Rolf Harris cornered teenager by pub toilet and groped her, court hears | Rolf Harris cornered teenager by pub toilet and groped her, court hears |
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| Rolf Harris indecently assaulted a teenage member of a youth theatre group who had just arrived in London, cornering her by a pub toilet to grope her and leaving the 15-year-old "gobsmacked", a court has heard. | Rolf Harris indecently assaulted a teenage member of a youth theatre group who had just arrived in London, cornering her by a pub toilet to grope her and leaving the 15-year-old "gobsmacked", a court has heard. |
| "I was panicked, I couldn't believe what had happened," the alleged victim, Tonya Lee, told Southwark crown court. "I felt disgusting. I didn't know who I could talk to." | "I was panicked, I couldn't believe what had happened," the alleged victim, Tonya Lee, told Southwark crown court. "I felt disgusting. I didn't know who I could talk to." |
| Lee, who has formally waived the right to anonymity granted to victims of alleged sexual attacks during court cases, said the incident happened on the evening she had arrived in the UK with her Australian theatre group in 1986. | |
| Lee said Harris's actions left her "a shell, a bit of an empty vessel" for the rest of the tour. "I just went though the motions," she said. "I always had a smile on my face, pretending things were OK." | Lee said Harris's actions left her "a shell, a bit of an empty vessel" for the rest of the tour. "I just went though the motions," she said. "I always had a smile on my face, pretending things were OK." |
| Answering questions from Sasha Wass QC, prosecuting, Lee said she stopped eating and developed forms of anorexia and bulimia. "I thought maybe if I was really skinny no one would touch me," she said. | Answering questions from Sasha Wass QC, prosecuting, Lee said she stopped eating and developed forms of anorexia and bulimia. "I thought maybe if I was really skinny no one would touch me," she said. |
| In the longer term, Lee told the court, her school work suffered and she gave up her previous ambition of a career in entertainment. "It just wasn't there any more. I'd lost that passion. I'd lost that desire," she said. "I felt like I didn't have a place in the world." | In the longer term, Lee told the court, her school work suffered and she gave up her previous ambition of a career in entertainment. "It just wasn't there any more. I'd lost that passion. I'd lost that desire," she said. "I felt like I didn't have a place in the world." |
| Describing the start of the UK tour, Lee said Harris, a friend of the Sydney-based group's leader, had met them at Heathrow airport and was there again when they ate that evening in a pub. | Describing the start of the UK tour, Lee said Harris, a friend of the Sydney-based group's leader, had met them at Heathrow airport and was there again when they ate that evening in a pub. |
| After hearing her sing, she said, Harris started talking to her, complimenting her on her voice and directing her to sit on his lap. The TV star was friendly and she was initially comfortable chatting. Then, she said, things changed: "I started to feel that there was some movement happening beneath me. He was moving back and forth, sort of rubbing against me, his crotch, that area." | |
| Lee said Harris acted as if nothing was happening, chatting normally, but then moved his hands on to her thigh, which was hidden by a table and her coat, and up to her groin. "I started to panic. I was panicky and I was wondering what to do, how to get out of this. And I was confused. The whole time this was happening, normal interactions were going on," she said. | |
| Lee said she escaped to the toilet, but emerged to find Harris standing outside the door. He engaged her in conversation and gave her "a big bear hug", pinning her between a wall and a pot plant. | |
| "I felt very uncomfortable and scared at that point," she said. "I didn't know what was going on. I couldn't understand why he was trapping me there." | "I felt very uncomfortable and scared at that point," she said. "I didn't know what was going on. I couldn't understand why he was trapping me there." |
| Lee said Harris then put his hand into her top, squeezing her breast, and then into her tights and underwear. | Lee said Harris then put his hand into her top, squeezing her breast, and then into her tights and underwear. |
| "I was gobsmacked," she said. "I was shocked. I was completely in disbelief. I almost thought it didn't happen, in a way, and I couldn't believe that it had." | "I was gobsmacked," she said. "I was shocked. I was completely in disbelief. I almost thought it didn't happen, in a way, and I couldn't believe that it had." |
| After the brief assault, Lee said Harris gave her another hug and walked away, saying something like: "Have a really good trip in the UK." | After the brief assault, Lee said Harris gave her another hug and walked away, saying something like: "Have a really good trip in the UK." |
| Lee said she felt disgusting but unable to tell others, given it was the first day of a much-anticipated national tour and the group was led by Harris's friend. "I felt that if I said anything people would hate me, people would blame me. I felt people wouldn't believe me. It was Rolf Harris," she said. | Lee said she felt disgusting but unable to tell others, given it was the first day of a much-anticipated national tour and the group was led by Harris's friend. "I felt that if I said anything people would hate me, people would blame me. I felt people wouldn't believe me. It was Rolf Harris," she said. |
| Harris, 84, who lives in Bray, Berkshire, denies 12 counts of indecent assault dating from 1969 to 1986, three of which relate to the alleged assault on Lee. | Harris, 84, who lives in Bray, Berkshire, denies 12 counts of indecent assault dating from 1969 to 1986, three of which relate to the alleged assault on Lee. |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |