Entertainer Harris jailed for over 5 yrs for for sex assaults

Rolf Harris, a 84-year-old UK-based celebrity, was jailed today for over five years for 12 indecent assaults against girls, including one aged just seven or eight.
The Australia-born television star, artist and song writer was found guilty on Monday of indecent assaults against four women over an 18-year period. He was sentenced today for five years and nine months in jail.
In his pre-sentence remarks at Southwark Crown Court in London, Justice Sweeney told Harris: "You have no-one to blame but yourself. You took advantage of the trust placed in you because of your celebrity status."
Victim's statements were read in court ahead of sentencing, with one woman who was abused when she was only seven or eight stated that the abuse destroyed her "childhood innocence".

Prosecutors, meanwhile, said Harris would not stand trial over allegations that he downloaded sexual images of children.
They claimed Harris had indecent images of children, as part of a larger collection of adult pornography, but decided it was not in the public interest to prosecute him.

A statement from another victim, who was a childhood friend of Harris's daughter Bindi, said the continued abuse she suffered between the ages of 13 and 19 "had a detrimental effect on my life".
She said the assaults made her feel "dirty, grubby and disgusting", saying Harris had "used and abused me to such a degree that it made me feel worthless".

"As a young girl I had aspirations to have a career, settle down and have a family. However, as a direct result of his actions, this has never materialised," she said.
"The knowledge of what he had done to me haunted me," she added.
Harris earlier arrived at court with Bindi, but his wife Alwen did not accompany him this time.
Another victim who has waived her right to anonymity, Australian Tonya Lee, said Harris had taken her "ability to feel safe", adding in her statement that she remained in "a constant state of anxiety".
She was abused three times in one day by Harris while she was on a theatre group trip to the UK at the age of 15.

"What Harris took from me was my very essence," her statement said.
"I believe that it was for Harris a forgettable moment but it was something for me I will never move on from," she added.