Rolf Harris 'Was Described As Dirty Old Man'

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

A childhood friend of a woman allegedly sexually abused by Rolf Harris has told a court how the entertainer was described as a "dirty old man".

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was "shocked and horrified" when the now 49-year-old alleged victim told her what he had done to her.

Southwark Crown Court has heard Harris first abused the woman during a holiday in Hawaii when she was 13 years old in 1978 and continued until she was 29.

At the time, the alleged victim was the best friend of the entertainer's daughter Bindi and he is said to have groped her in a hotel room and on a waterside jetty.

The alleged victim's friend told the court: "Rolf Harris was a well-known and well-loved celebrity, pretty much well known to all of us."

She added she was a classmate of the alleged victim and told the court she had had a conversation with her friend during which she described Harris as a "dirty old man".

Rolf Harris was accompanied to court by several friends and family members

The witness went on: "He asked her to sit on his lap and then touched her up. It was a shocking conversation.

"He was a well-known … he was one of those people I would never imagine ... I was shocked, horrified.

"I may have mentioned it to my parents. It wasn't an asking matter … I wasn't going to spread it to the world."

She added that in 1996, after she had moved to New Zealand, the alleged victim called and spoke to her again about the sexual abuse she had allegedly suffered.

The alleged victim's friend told the court: "He had been abusing her through her teens and beyond ... at the age of 13, 14.

"It went on for many years. I didn't want to go into details at the time because it wasn't the place. It was quite distressing.

"She told her parents, no one else I don't think knew. I told her to go to the police but she said she didn't want to. It wasn't the time or the place and she didn't want it to become a media circus."

Under cross examination from Sonia Woodley QC, the witness was asked about her friend's drinking.

She said that she never smelt alcohol on her breath at school but did "in a home environment".

When questioned again by prosecutor Ms Sasha Wass QC to explain further her friend's "anxiety" at school, she said: "She never seemed to have a lot of self-confidence. She was a lovely, lovely girl.

"She just sometime ... took to drink to give her confidence."

The court was also read a statement from the alleged victim's former tutor in 1980 which said she was "weeping about home/private matters" and had been comforted by friends.

Harris faces 12 charges of indecent assault between 1968 and 1986, which he denies.

He followed proceedings via a hearing loop from the dock. His niece and friends were also in court.

The trial continues.

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