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Rolf Harris 'abused underage girls,' court hears

TV entertainer Rolf Harris was a “Jekyll and Hyde” character whose “untouchable” reputation allowed him to carry out a string of alleged indecent assaults on under-age girls, a court heard yesterday.

The 84-year-old was even known at an Australian TV channel as “the octopus” because of the way he put his hands all over women, London’s Southwark Crown Court was told.

Opening the case against the star, who denies 12 counts of indecent assault between 1968 and 1986, prosecutor Sasha Wass QC said Mr Harris’s alleged victims were “overawed” at meeting him. “Mr Harris was too famous, too powerful and his reputation made him untouchable,” she said

His fame and reputation that meant he was able to carry out “brazen” sexual assaults, often when other people were present or nearby, she added.

One victim is said to have been the daughter of a friend who Mr Harris allegedly groomed like “a young puppy who had been trained to obey” from the age of 13.

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