Rolf Harris 'groped women and girls under the noses of other people', court hears
ROLF Harris hid his appetite for groping girls as he “provided the sound track to us growing up,” jurors were told today.
Rolf Harris denies claims that he groped three girls aged 16 and under between 1971 and 2004
The all-round entertainer found fame with hits like Tie Me Kangeroo Down, Sport, a court heard.
But it is an “inescapable truth” that it is in the 86-year-old’s nature to molest young females, said Jonathan Rees, QC.
Harris denies groping three girls of 16 or under and three women between 1971 and 2004.
He was jailed in 2014 after being found guilty of indecently assaulting females aged eight to 19
He was jailed in 2014 after being found guilty of indecently assaulting four female victims aged from eight to 19 between 1969 and 1986.
The Australian-born musician and singer has suggested his current accusers may have fabricated their accounts to get a slice of his £11 million fortune.
But jurors were told Harris’s 2014 convictions shows his has a “propensity” to grope girls.
In his closing speech for the Crown, Mr Rees acknowledged that Harris had “provided the sound track for us growing up.”
Seven females claimed to the court that Rolf had groped them in one way or another
He added: “Seven women have come to this court during the currency of the trial saying that Mr Harris groped them in one way or another - four out of the seven alleged that they were groped when ages 16 or under, all of them say that there were other people close by.
“Mr Harris denies that he did any such thing and it’s been variously suggested to most of the complainants that they have either exaggerated or fabricated their accounts in the hope of acquiring financial benefit or attention.
“There’s evidence that five of the seven complainants complained to others about being groped by Mr Harris before any news of allegations featuring him appeared in the press.”
The trial will continue at a later date
Mr Rees said of each alleged victim: “What was her motivation if not to tell the truth?’
Harris, formerly of Bray, Berkshire, denies seven counts of indecent assault and one alternative of sexual assault.
The trial continues.