Rolf Harris sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in jail

Rolf Harris has been sentenced to five years and 9 months in jail for 12 assaults against four girls.

Rolf Harris, 84, who was found guilty of offences that took place between 1968 and 1986, was told by the judge he had “no-one to blame but himself”.

The judge said Rolf Harris had taken advantage of his celebrity status and had shown “no remorse”.

One victim said the abuse had taken away her “childhood innocence”.

Rolf Harris’s sentence of five years and nine months has already been referred to the Attorney General’s Office under the “unduly lenient sentence scheme”.

A spokesman for the office said it “only takes one person to trigger the process”, and the sentence must be considered within 28 days for possible referral to the Court of Appeal.

The judge said Rolf Harris had “clearly got a thrill from committing some of these offences” against the four girls, one of whom who was just seven or eight.

The other victims were two young teenagers and a childhood friend of Rolf Harris’s daughter Bindi, whom he abused between the ages of 13 and 19.

The judge said the assaults resulted in her suffering panic attacks, anxiety and led to her becoming an alcoholic, saying she had “suffered severe psychological harm”.

Speaking after sentencing, she said the jail term was “immaterial”.

“I feel fine, I think the guilty verdict was actually what I wanted, what I went to court for,” she said.

She added: “I do hope that women will come forward now, celebrity or not.”

Rolf Harris is likely to serve half the sentence in prison and was told he would not have to pay compensation to his victims. However, the judge said he could have to pay the costs of the prosecution.

Two of Rolf Harris’s victims were in court for the sentencing, which saw members of the press and public fill the public gallery and watch from an overspill court via a video feed.

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