Following yesterday's news that Rolf Harris has been found guilty on 12 charges of indecent assault, the former children’s entertainer could be facing more charges as more people come forward to talk about the abuse they allegedly suffered at his hands. As well as the four victims of indecent assault, there were an additional six women and one man spoke at his trial, after having been groped or fondled by Harris, or been witness to these acts.
Alison Saunders, director of public prosecutions, has announced that further charges will come if any of the new allegations – made by people who only now feel confident their claims will be taken seriously – are found to be worth pursuing in court. ‘We know there has been more reporting, what we don't know yet is whether or not more charges will follow,’ she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, as reported by the* Guardian*. ‘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.’
This is the second conviction of a public figure following historic rape and indecent and sexual assault allegations (Max Clifford was the first) as part of Operation Yewtree, and the NSPCC have said that they have received an ‘explosion of calls’ about sexual abuse in the 24 hours since he was found guilty.
A spokesperson for the charity told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that he was further shocked by Harris’s behaviour considering he had leant his talents to a safety awareness campaign to make children more aware of sexual assault.
The Kids Say No campaign took place during the mid-80s, including a period where Harris carried out some of his attacks: ‘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.’
The lawyers representing 176 of the claimants against Jimmy Savile, have also had contacted from ‘up to a dozen’ people with allegations about Harris.
Adam Pemberton, Assistant Chief Executive at Victim Support, told The Debrief: ‘Criminal justice relies on the bravery of victims and witnesses, as without them there is no case. It takes tremendous courage and huge strength to report sex abuse and go on to give evidence in court against an attacker, especially when a case is as high profile as this one and the others in Operation Yewtree.
‘We hope that this verdict will encourage people who have been sexually abused to speak out or seek help.’
Yeesh. Grim stuff.
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Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.