Rolf Harris biography
One charge was that he sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl who asked for his autograph at a community centre in Hampshire in 1968 or 1969. When questioned by police about this allegation, Harris replied "I would simply never touch a child inappropriately." He denied that he had visited Cambridge until four years before the trial, but television archive material was produced in court showing that he had taken part in an episode of the ITV show Star Games, which had been filmed in Cambridge in 1978. Harris denied that he had told a deliberate lie and said that his failure to remember the show was a "a lapse of memory." Additional witnesses from Malta, New Zealand, and Australia were called to testify against Harris, although these charges could not be pursued in the British courts.
After several delays in the trial, where the judge's summing-up took three days, the jury retired to consider its verdict on 19 June. On 30 June, Harris was found guilty of all 12 counts of indecent assault.
On 4 July, Harris was sentenced to a total of five years and nine months in prison for the offences. Passing sentence, Judge Mr Justice Sweeney said that Harris had shown "no remorse", adding "You have no one to blame but yourself". Some sentences were expected to run consecutively and Harris was expected to serve half of the total time in prison. He was told he must pay prosecution costs, though not compensation to the victims. The sentence was referred to the Attorney General Dominic Grieve after complaints that it was too lenient.
Honours
Harris received a number of awards and honours. Following his conviction, many of these were rescinded. Harris was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1968; he was advanced to Officer (OBE) in 1977, then to Commander (CBE) in 2006. In 1989 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), and was advanced to Officer (AO) in the Queen's 2012 Birthday Honours. In 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal "for service to entertainment, charity and the community".Harris has received two honorary doctorates: from the University of East London in 2007 and Liverpool Hope University in 2010. Following his conviction, both universities removed his honorary doctorates.
In 2008 Harris was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. He was joined onstage by the Seekers to perform "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" and his "Jake the Peg" routine. Also in 2008, to coincide with the release of Art: The Definitive Visual Guide, publishers Dorling Kindersley conducted the "What the British really think about art today" survey and placed Harris above notable English artist Damien Hirst. After he was found guilty, the Australian Recording Industry Association removed him from the ARIA Hall of Fame.
In 2011 Harris was awarded the title of "Best Selling Published Artist" by the Fine Art Trade Guild. In 2012 he was made a Fellow of BAFTA the following year, but following his conviction, the Academy announced that his fellowship would be annulled.
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