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Rolf Harris guilty of indecent assaults
Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has been found guilty of 12 counts of indecently assaulting four girls in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
One of the victims was a childhood friend of his daughter, while another was aged seven or eight.
The court heard Harris, 84, was a "Jekyll and Hyde" character, and he will be sentenced on Friday.
Police also said they were considering fresh allegations against Harris which did not form part of his recent trial.
Scotland Yard said if the claims meet the force's threshold for investigation they will be looked into further.
The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, said a custodial term was "uppermost in the court's mind", but he wanted to see a medical report before sentencing.
Rolf Harris police mugshot The Metropolitan Police have issued a photograph of Harris taken after his arrest
Harris, who was granted bail, faced a mass of photographers and reporters as he left Southwark Crown Court in the company of his wife Alwen and daughter Bindi, who had both attended most of the trial.
Prosecutors said Harris used his "status and position" to abuse his victims, and he had a dark side to his personality.
The central allegation concerned a friend of Harris's daughter, whom the court heard he groomed and molested from the age of 13 until she was 19.
The other victims told the court they were touched or groped by Harris, sometimes at his public appearances.
The jury deliberated for 37 hours and 45 minutes before reaching their unanimous verdicts.
Harris was found guilty of all 12 charges he was prosecuted on. They were:
Count one: A woman said Harris touched her inappropriately when she was just seven or eight while he was signing autographs in Hampshire in the late 1960s
Count two: Harris was accused of groping a teenage waitress's bottom at a charity event in Cambridge in the 1970s
Counts three to nine: A childhood friend of Mr Harris' daughter said he repeatedly indecently assaulted her between the ages of 13 and 19, including once when his daughter was asleep in the same room. He admitted a relationship with the woman, but said it began after she turned 18
Counts 10 to 12: Australian woman Tonya Lee, who has waived her right to anonymity, said he fondled her three times on one day while she was on a theatre group trip to the UK at the age of 15.
Six other women also told the court about indecent assaults Harris had carried out against them. The entertainer was not prosecuted over those incidents but the evidence was introduced by the prosecution as an added illustration of his behaviour.
Letitia Fitzpatrick, who gave a character reference for the prosecution about an alleged assault on her, told the BBC: "It was such an unpleasant experience that I just wanted to forget about it and move on and not really think about it again."
line
A court sketch of the Rolf Harris jury delivering its verdicts
In court Jane Peel, BBC News Correspondent
The verdicts came just before 3pm, almost 38 hours into the jury's deliberations.
Before they were delivered the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, made it clear to all those inside court two - the journalists, the public, and the relatives of Rolf Harris - that he expected silence throughout the process.
Everyone took him at his word. There was barely a sound as the forewoman stood.
Rolf Harris was allowed to remain seated in the glass-fronted dock, listening as he had throughout his trial, on a headset.
A short distance away his wife, Alwen Hughes, his daughter Bindi, his niece Jenny and other relatives and supporters looked on.
Twelve times the forewoman of the jury said the word "guilty". Harris remained completely impassive. Bindi widened her eyes, looking stunned. Jenny turned to Harris's wife and gently shook her head.
They had been convinced of his innocence. But the jury was sure of his guilt.
line
Harris, from Bray, Berkshire, was first questioned in November 2012 in Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree investigation set up in the wake of sexual abuse allegations against the late BBC Radio 1 DJ Jimmy Savile.
Although his arrest was unconnected to Savile's offending, the publicity surrounding that case had prompted the friend of Harris's daughter to come forward.
But Harris was not initially named by the police or identified in the mainstream media until a few weeks after his arrest in March 2013.
The other women who gave evidence in court contacted police after Harris's arrest was made public and he was charged in August of that year.
Speaking outside court after the seven-week trial, Jenny Hopkins, deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, said: "The victims in this case have suffered in silence for many years and have only recently found the courage to come forward.
"Each victim, unknown to the others, described a similar pattern of behaviour; that of a man acting without fear of the consequences.
"I hope today's verdict provides other victims with the courage and confidence to come forward, no matter who is alleged to have carried out the abuse."
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Tonya Lee said she had been abused by Harris while on a visit to the UK when she was 15
Peter Watt, director of national services at the NSPCC, said the children's charity had had 28 calls about Harris through its helpline, including 13 people who said they had been abused by him.
He added: "All of this was passed to the police, helping them to build their case against Harris, whose actions over the years have seriously damaged the lives of his victims.
"His reckless and brazen sexual offending, sometimes in public places, bizarrely within sight of people he knew, speaks volumes about just how untouchable he thought he was."
Ms Lee, 43, said the abuse had led her to contemplate taking her own life.
The mother-of-three said: "This has impacted me in ways you can't imagine and in ways that can't be taken back...
"To this day I can't go to sleep without lying in a lounge and having the TV on. I cannot lie in a room and try and sit with my thoughts and go to sleep."
The childhood friend of Harris's daughter, who has not been named, said: "I am very relieved, that's all I am prepared to say".
Rolf Harris leaving Southwark Crown Court after the verdicts on 30 June 2014 Harris made no comment when he left court after the verdicts
Rolf Harris arrives at court on 30 June 2014 with daughter Bindi (l), wife Alwen (r) and niece Jenny (second r) He was accompanied on most days of the trial by his daughter Bindi, wife Alwen, and other relatives
Rolf Harris with the Queen and Kylie Minogue at the Diamond Jubilee concert in June 2012 Harris painted a portrait of the Queen in 2006 and took part in her Diamond Jubilee concert six years later
A make-up artist who told the trial that she was was repeatedly groped by Harris in Australia told the BBC "justice has finally been done".
Harris became known to successive generations after arriving in London from his native Australia at the age of 22 in 1952. He became a fixture on British TV screens as a children's entertainer, songwriter, performer, and became an OBE, MBE and CBE.
He was also an artist and in 2005 painted a portrait of the Queen.
He was awarded a Bafta fellowship two years but the academy says it will strip him of the honour ago in light of the conviction.
In his evidence, Harris reminded the jury of his career, how he had invented the wobble board instrument by accident and popularised the didgeridoo, and talked about his hit records, briefly singing a line from one of them, Jake the Peg.
He denied having sexual contact with his daughter's friend while she was under 16, but said they had consensual sexual contact later. He described himself as a "touchy feely sort of person" and rejected the other women's claims of sexual assault.
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I hope the sick bastad lives long enough to serve his sentance !!
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I feel sorry for the two little boys...............
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Hidden Content I wondered how long it would take Hidden Content
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Uh, like, keep playing while I shoot through. dirty sod
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5 year and 9 month sentence, I hope he gets made to serve the whole term Hidden Content
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I find it amazing that so many women and girls have been abused by celebrities and in the wake of Jimmy Saville have now found the courage to speak out. it makes me wonder if money is the attraction!!!
Don't get me wrong I'm not condoning violence against women, or violence against anybody for that matter, but it does seem that the door has been opened and the flood gates now can't hold back the masses.
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Although money could be a factor I think it's more the case that women now feel that any allegations they make will be listened to and investigated accordingly. If there's any more so called celebs/pedo's I sincerely hope they are shaking in their shoes while they wait to be named shamed and jailed.
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How can his wife and daughter believe that he is still innocent when the papers have reported that the police have found 33 indecent images of boys and girls on his computer. It's also ridiclous that the cps has decided not to proscute him for this which could have increased his sentence. Hidden Content
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They should castrate the dirty old pervert, along with the rest the 1980's paedo gang.
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They should castrate the dirty old pervert, along with the rest the 1980's paedo gang.
couldnt agree more , was in a place of trust , not unlike savill , dealing with kids etc
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