Rolf Harris is being sued by an alleged victim who claims the disgraced pedophile sexually assaulted her at an Australian adventure camp when she was ten years old.
The alleged victim alleged that Harris, 92, assaulted her while she was at a school holiday camp in Melbourne in 1982.
Harris, who has neck cancer, was convicted of 12 sexual assaults against four underage girls in June 2014 by Southwark Crown Court and was sentenced to six years behind bars. He was later released from prison in 2017.
Now another woman has claimed she was sexually assaulted by the disgraced child performer when she was 10 years old and in foster care.
The woman, who remains anonymous, said the alleged abuse she suffered left her with ‘permanent psychiatric damage’, reports The age.
Rolf Harris (left in 2020, right in 1973) is being sued by an alleged victim who claims the disgraced pedophile sexually assaulted her at an Australian adventure camp when she was ten years old
She claims she was sexually assaulted by Harris when she visited Camp Manyung in Mount Eliza, south of Melbourne, in 1982. The disgraced child artist is said to have performed in the camp at the time.
The alleged victim claimed that she and other children were introduced to him after one of Harris’ performances. The plaintiff says she gave Harris a card and he sat down next to her.
The woman said she spilled wax on her dress and tried to get it off when Harris offered to help.
“Then he said he could help me get the wax off,” the woman said in her claim. “It started helpful.”
But the exchange quickly turned sinister, the woman claims.
She claims Harris dragged her onto his lap and moved his hands down her leg and up her skirt in front of him sexually assaulted her.
“I remember feeling petrified, terrified and panicked,” she said.
The alleged victim claimed she tried calling and screaming before running away from Harris.
The woman claims she told a member of staff about the abuse, but Harris called her a “lying brat.” Harris is said to have then left the holiday camp.
Rolf Harris arrives with his wife Alwen Hughes (second right) and daughter Bindi (L) at Southwark Crown Court in Central London on June 30, 2014
The plaintiff is also suing the state of Victoria and OzChild over a series of separate allegations of abuse while in foster care.
The woman’s lead attorney, John Rule of law firm Maurice Blackburn, said his client is seeking damages for the battery against Harris, adding that the alleged assault left her with permanent psychiatric damage.
“Her claims have been absolutely consistent since I first spoke to her two years ago and through our research we have been able to confirm that Harris was in Australia and Victoria at the same time… he performed at the FL grand final ,” Rule told The Age.
“He has been convicted in the UK of molesting other young girls and in quite similar circumstances (against my client),” Rule said, adding that a trial date is expected to be set in early 2024.
He added: “We know this is a pattern of behavior. It is a real arrogance in his transgression.’
Harris was convicted of 12 sexual assaults against four underage girls in London in 2014 and was sentenced to six years in prison.
However, he was paroled from HMP Stafford in May 2017, having served just three years of his sentence.
Harris’s attacks include one on an eight-year-old signature hunter and two against girls in their early teens, as well as a catalog of abuse against his daughter’s boyfriend of over 16.
Some crimes had been committed while his daughter was in the same room. He admitted to having a relationship with the woman, but said it didn’t start until she turned 18.
Since his release from prison, Harris has been living a secluded life in the English village of Bray, Berkshire, with his wife of 64, Alwen Hughes, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.
Last year it turned out that Harris can no longer speak or eat and needs constant care after being diagnosed with neck cancer.
Harris married his sculptor wife Alwen in March 1958 after meeting at art school. The couple has one daughter Bindi.
Best known for hits Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport and Jake The Peg, Harris also famously painted the 80th birthday portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
He was the face of British Paints for over three decades before being dumped by the brand when he was arrested in 2013.
