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| Rolf Harris trial witness: 'The way he tickled you was cringey … creepy' | Rolf Harris trial witness: 'The way he tickled you was cringey … creepy' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A woman has told a court that Rolf Harris indecently assaulted her without warning when she emerged from a shower in a hotel room wearing just a towel at the age of 13. | A woman has told a court that Rolf Harris indecently assaulted her without warning when she emerged from a shower in a hotel room wearing just a towel at the age of 13. |
| The witness, whose family were friends with Harris, told Southwark crown court that at the time she already found Harris "creepy" and "cringey" for his habit of giving her hugs and tickles, but was nonetheless deeply shocked by the alleged attack. | The witness, whose family were friends with Harris, told Southwark crown court that at the time she already found Harris "creepy" and "cringey" for his habit of giving her hugs and tickles, but was nonetheless deeply shocked by the alleged attack. |
| Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman, now in her late 40s, said she had been on holiday at the hotel when the alleged assault took place in the late 1970s. | Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman, now in her late 40s, said she had been on holiday at the hotel when the alleged assault took place in the late 1970s. |
| She believed she was alone in the hotel room but came out from the shower to find the Australian-born entertainer and artist standing there, the woman said. | She believed she was alone in the hotel room but came out from the shower to find the Australian-born entertainer and artist standing there, the woman said. |
| "He just came up to me and gave me one of his big hugs and tickles," she said, answering questions from Sasha Wass QC, prosecuting. Harris then immediately reached under the towel and sexually assaulted her, she said, muttering something like: "You're lovely." The woman said she felt panicked. "I just thought, Oh my God, what's happening," she said. "He pretended nothing had happened, and said: 'I'll see you downstairs.'" | |
| The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said Harris would regularly hug and tickle her, and she did not like it, calling it "pretty creepy". | The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said Harris would regularly hug and tickle her, and she did not like it, calling it "pretty creepy". |
| "The way he hugged you and tickled you all over was cringey. I never liked it. Rolf would fold himself around you. He was a big man. He would fold you in his arms and tickle you up and down your body." | "The way he hugged you and tickled you all over was cringey. I never liked it. Rolf would fold himself around you. He was a big man. He would fold you in his arms and tickle you up and down your body." |
| The woman said Harris assaulted her in a similar way two days later when he wrapped a towel round her as she emerged from the sea, with family members close by. | The woman said Harris assaulted her in a similar way two days later when he wrapped a towel round her as she emerged from the sea, with family members close by. |
| Asked by Wass why she did not shout out, the woman replied: "I was a very shy child, excruciatingly shy really, and I didn't have the guts to shout out. I thought that if I shouted out it will cause mayhem." | Asked by Wass why she did not shout out, the woman replied: "I was a very shy child, excruciatingly shy really, and I didn't have the guts to shout out. I thought that if I shouted out it will cause mayhem." |
| Harris assaulted her other times on the holiday, the woman said. Asked by Wass if she resisted the alleged assaults, she replied: "No I didn't. I wish I did but I didn't." She said she felt ashamed for doing nothing. | Harris assaulted her other times on the holiday, the woman said. Asked by Wass if she resisted the alleged assaults, she replied: "No I didn't. I wish I did but I didn't." She said she felt ashamed for doing nothing. |
| Harris, 84, wearing a dark grey suit, pink shirt and multicoloured tie, sat in the glassed-in dock listening impassively to proceedings with a hearing loop headset. He denies 12 counts of indecent assault covering 25 years from the late 1960s. His wife, Alwen, sat in the public seats among other relatives and supporters. | Harris, 84, wearing a dark grey suit, pink shirt and multicoloured tie, sat in the glassed-in dock listening impassively to proceedings with a hearing loop headset. He denies 12 counts of indecent assault covering 25 years from the late 1960s. His wife, Alwen, sat in the public seats among other relatives and supporters. |
| On Friday, opening the prosecution case, Wass told the jury that the woman was sexually assaulted by Harris over a number of years from the age of 13. | On Friday, opening the prosecution case, Wass told the jury that the woman was sexually assaulted by Harris over a number of years from the age of 13. |
| Harris groomed the girl "like a pet", beginning on the holiday and continuing to do so when he visited her family in England, Wass said. | Harris groomed the girl "like a pet", beginning on the holiday and continuing to do so when he visited her family in England, Wass said. |
| The alleged victim was left anxious and panicky, and at the age of 14 she began to drink gin when she knew Harris was due to visit, the court heard. | The alleged victim was left anxious and panicky, and at the age of 14 she began to drink gin when she knew Harris was due to visit, the court heard. |
| She presumed no one would believe allegations against a celebrity. | She presumed no one would believe allegations against a celebrity. |
| Wass said of Harris: "He never treated her as an equal or a human being. He never had a meaningful conversation with her. She felt she was just his little toy." | Wass said of Harris: "He never treated her as an equal or a human being. He never had a meaningful conversation with her. She felt she was just his little toy." |
| When the alleged victim finally told her family in the 1990s, her father wrote to Harris, and he replied saying he was in "a state of abject self-loathing". | When the alleged victim finally told her family in the 1990s, her father wrote to Harris, and he replied saying he was in "a state of abject self-loathing". |
| The jury was on Friday read Harris's letter to the girl's father in which he admitted a sexual relationship – while insisting it began when the girl was of legal age – and begged for forgiveness. | The jury was on Friday read Harris's letter to the girl's father in which he admitted a sexual relationship – while insisting it began when the girl was of legal age – and begged for forgiveness. |
| "When I see the misery I have caused [the alleged victim] I am sickened by myself. You can't go back and change things that you have done in this life – I wish to God I could," Harris wrote. | "When I see the misery I have caused [the alleged victim] I am sickened by myself. You can't go back and change things that you have done in this life – I wish to God I could," Harris wrote. |
| Wass told the jury that the respected artist was talented and could be kind, "but, concealed behind this charming and amicable children's entertainer, lay a man who exploited the very children who were drawn to him". | Wass told the jury that the respected artist was talented and could be kind, "but, concealed behind this charming and amicable children's entertainer, lay a man who exploited the very children who were drawn to him". |
| "There is a Jekyll and Hyde nature to Rolf Harris and this dark side of Rolf Harris was obviously not apparent to all of the other people he met during the course of his work, and it was not apparent to those who may want to testify to his good character." | "There is a Jekyll and Hyde nature to Rolf Harris and this dark side of Rolf Harris was obviously not apparent to all of the other people he met during the course of his work, and it was not apparent to those who may want to testify to his good character." |
| The prosecution case covers 10 complainants. Harris faces charges in connection with only four of these as the remainder of the alleged offences took place outside the UK before 1997, the cut-off date for prosecution in a British court. | The prosecution case covers 10 complainants. Harris faces charges in connection with only four of these as the remainder of the alleged offences took place outside the UK before 1997, the cut-off date for prosecution in a British court. |