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| Rolf Harris could face new charges as other alleged victims contact police | Rolf Harris could face new charges as other alleged victims contact police |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Rolf Harris could potentially face new charges following his conviction for 12 indecent assaults on young women and girls after a series of other alleged victims contacted police and charities, prosecutors have said. | Rolf Harris could potentially face new charges following his conviction for 12 indecent assaults on young women and girls after a series of other alleged victims contacted police and charities, prosecutors have said. |
| Following the verdict at Southwark crown court in London on Monday a number of other claims were made to police and to the NSPCC children's charity. The latter said it had received 28 calls involving 13 potential new victims during the trial, and had passed the information to police. | Following the verdict at Southwark crown court in London on Monday a number of other claims were made to police and to the NSPCC children's charity. The latter said it had received 28 calls involving 13 potential new victims during the trial, and had passed the information to police. |
| The 84-year-old Australian-born entertainer is to be sentenced on Friday. | The 84-year-old Australian-born entertainer is to be sentenced on Friday. |
| The new information would be assessed, said Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecution. "We know there has been more reporting, what we don't know yet is whether or not more charges will follow," she told BBC Breakfast programme. | The new information would be assessed, said Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecution. "We know there has been more reporting, what we don't know yet is whether or not more charges will follow," she told BBC Breakfast programme. |
| "We will work with the police and look at any cases that they send to us to see whether there is enough evidence to bring more charges. So it is too early to say really." | "We will work with the police and look at any cases that they send to us to see whether there is enough evidence to bring more charges. So it is too early to say really." |
| Saunders said she was pleased the trial vindicated the victims' efforts. "They have been very brave in coming forward," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "We should make sure we don't triumphalise in these instances because what it means is that abuse took place against young girls and women and therefore I think we ought to think about them first." | Saunders said she was pleased the trial vindicated the victims' efforts. "They have been very brave in coming forward," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "We should make sure we don't triumphalise in these instances because what it means is that abuse took place against young girls and women and therefore I think we ought to think about them first." |
| Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said the charity had experienced "an explosion of calls" in the past 24 hours from people concerned about sexual abuse. | Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said the charity had experienced "an explosion of calls" in the past 24 hours from people concerned about sexual abuse. |
| He told ITV"s Good Morning Britain programme that the charity was all the more shocked given it advised Harris in the mid-1980s about an education video the entertainer made about child abuse, called Kids Can Say No. | He told ITV"s Good Morning Britain programme that the charity was all the more shocked given it advised Harris in the mid-1980s about an education video the entertainer made about child abuse, called Kids Can Say No. |
| Wanless said: "I think this illustrated the absolute hypocrisy of Rolf Harris, there is no excuse for him not understanding the nature of the crimes that he was committing, here is someone who is absolutely providing children with good advice about how to stay safe." | Wanless said: "I think this illustrated the absolute hypocrisy of Rolf Harris, there is no excuse for him not understanding the nature of the crimes that he was committing, here is someone who is absolutely providing children with good advice about how to stay safe." |
| Separately, Richard Scorer from the law firm Slater & Gordon, which represents 176 victims of Jimmy Savile, said the company had been contacted by "up to a dozen people" with allegations about Harris. A spokesman for the firm said it would focus on possible civil compensation: "We would be investigating opportunities to find redress along those lines." | |
| As plans were drawn up to remove tributes to Harris in Australia, including a plaque in his birthplace of Bassendean, which is also considering removing his status as a freeman of the town, the Australian prime minister said it was "sad and tragic" to learn the truth about such a celebrated figure. | As plans were drawn up to remove tributes to Harris in Australia, including a plaque in his birthplace of Bassendean, which is also considering removing his status as a freeman of the town, the Australian prime minister said it was "sad and tragic" to learn the truth about such a celebrated figure. |
| "I feel gutted and dismayed but it's very important that we do everything we humanly can to protect vulnerable young people," Tony Abbott told ABC radio. "Sexual abuse is an utterly abhorrent crime." | "I feel gutted and dismayed but it's very important that we do everything we humanly can to protect vulnerable young people," Tony Abbott told ABC radio. "Sexual abuse is an utterly abhorrent crime." |
| The film and TV body Bafta has already annulled the fellowship it granted Harris in 2012 and moves are believed to be under way to remove his CBE. | |
| While the court heard from 10 victims of Harris, including a girl who was about eight when he groped her after signing an autograph for her, and his daughter Bindi's best friend, whom he groomed from 13, the true number is likely to run into the dozens. As well as the new claims to police and the NSPCC, the evidence of seven more complainants was not put before the jury for legal reasons, while a series of other women made allegations to Australian media during the trial. | While the court heard from 10 victims of Harris, including a girl who was about eight when he groped her after signing an autograph for her, and his daughter Bindi's best friend, whom he groomed from 13, the true number is likely to run into the dozens. As well as the new claims to police and the NSPCC, the evidence of seven more complainants was not put before the jury for legal reasons, while a series of other women made allegations to Australian media during the trial. |
| While the assaults date back to the late 1960s, the first victim, Harris's daughter's friend, only came forward in 2012, after allegations about Jimmy Savile and other celebrities became public. | While the assaults date back to the late 1960s, the first victim, Harris's daughter's friend, only came forward in 2012, after allegations about Jimmy Savile and other celebrities became public. |
| The seven-week trial rested on what the prosecution argued were significant similarities between many of the assaults, beyond the bounds of probability given all but two of the alleged victims had never talked to each other. | The seven-week trial rested on what the prosecution argued were significant similarities between many of the assaults, beyond the bounds of probability given all but two of the alleged victims had never talked to each other. |
| The defence case was simpler still: Harris, one of the most prolific and enduring entertainers of modern times, had an unblemished record from 60 years in showbusiness and should not be condemned on only the word of the victims, who were liars and fantasists or else gravely mistaken. | The defence case was simpler still: Harris, one of the most prolific and enduring entertainers of modern times, had an unblemished record from 60 years in showbusiness and should not be condemned on only the word of the victims, who were liars and fantasists or else gravely mistaken. |
| The jury spent more than 36 hours deliberating but were eventually unanimous on all counts. | The jury spent more than 36 hours deliberating but were eventually unanimous on all counts. |
| The entertainer will be sentenced on Friday, following medical reports. The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, warned Harris's defence team that a jail term was "uppermost in the court's mind". | The entertainer will be sentenced on Friday, following medical reports. The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, warned Harris's defence team that a jail term was "uppermost in the court's mind". |
| Seven of the 12 counts were connected to Bindi Harris's childhood friend, who said the entertainer had first groped her when she was 13, on a holiday in the late 1970s. She described a concentrated process of grooming by the entertainer, who kept up an intermittent and almost entirely romance-free sexual liaison with her until her late 20s. The woman described how the stress of the assaults, some of which took place at Harris's family home in Bray, Berkshire, and even in front of a sleeping Bindi, caused her to drink heavily from 13 to quell panic attacks. | Seven of the 12 counts were connected to Bindi Harris's childhood friend, who said the entertainer had first groped her when she was 13, on a holiday in the late 1970s. She described a concentrated process of grooming by the entertainer, who kept up an intermittent and almost entirely romance-free sexual liaison with her until her late 20s. The woman described how the stress of the assaults, some of which took place at Harris's family home in Bray, Berkshire, and even in front of a sleeping Bindi, caused her to drink heavily from 13 to quell panic attacks. |
| The youngest victim said she was about eight when Harris groped her crotch at a public event in Portsmouth in the late 1960s after signing an autograph for her. Another victim, Tonya Lee – who waived her right to anonymity as she gave an interview to Australian TV – developed anorexia after being groped by Harris in a pub aged 15 while on a youth theatre tour. | The youngest victim said she was about eight when Harris groped her crotch at a public event in Portsmouth in the late 1960s after signing an autograph for her. Another victim, Tonya Lee – who waived her right to anonymity as she gave an interview to Australian TV – developed anorexia after being groped by Harris in a pub aged 15 while on a youth theatre tour. |
| The evidence of the fourth victim on the counts – the other six gave evidence as so-called bad character witnesses – proved arguably crucial. | The evidence of the fourth victim on the counts – the other six gave evidence as so-called bad character witnesses – proved arguably crucial. |
| Harris insisted he could not have groped a teenage waitress at a celebrity event in Cambridge in the late 1970s as he had not visited the city until years later. However, mid-trial, a member of the public sent the prosecution video footage of Harris taking part in an ITV show called Star Games filmed in Cambridge in 1978, calling into question his alibi and the credibility of others. | Harris insisted he could not have groped a teenage waitress at a celebrity event in Cambridge in the late 1970s as he had not visited the city until years later. However, mid-trial, a member of the public sent the prosecution video footage of Harris taking part in an ITV show called Star Games filmed in Cambridge in 1978, calling into question his alibi and the credibility of others. |
| The jury was not told that seven more complainants alleged Harris groped or assaulted them, claims covering almost 30 years and involving women and girls aged from 14 upwards. These accounts were given in pretrial hearings, but were not pursued in the main trial for legal reasons. | The jury was not told that seven more complainants alleged Harris groped or assaulted them, claims covering almost 30 years and involving women and girls aged from 14 upwards. These accounts were given in pretrial hearings, but were not pursued in the main trial for legal reasons. |
| One woman said she was 14 in 1977 when Harris, on a visit to Sydney, grabbed her bottom and pursued her into another room, saying, "Rolfie deserves a cuddle". Harris played with the underwear of another witness, a well-known British celebrity, as she recorded a TV interview with him in the mid-1990s. | One woman said she was 14 in 1977 when Harris, on a visit to Sydney, grabbed her bottom and pursued her into another room, saying, "Rolfie deserves a cuddle". Harris played with the underwear of another witness, a well-known British celebrity, as she recorded a TV interview with him in the mid-1990s. |
| Additionally, new complainants came forward in Australia during the trial, among them a radio host and her male co-presenter. | Additionally, new complainants came forward in Australia during the trial, among them a radio host and her male co-presenter. |
| It is a grisly conclusion to Harris's immensely long and hugely successful career, which began when he arrived in London from Perth in 1952 switching from art to cabaret and then children's TV. Over the decades he hosted prime-time entertainment shows, had a series of novelty pop hits and presented cartoon programmes and then animal shows. | It is a grisly conclusion to Harris's immensely long and hugely successful career, which began when he arrived in London from Perth in 1952 switching from art to cabaret and then children's TV. Over the decades he hosted prime-time entertainment shows, had a series of novelty pop hits and presented cartoon programmes and then animal shows. |