This article will briefly explore the case of Rolf Harris as this Monday he was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in jail for a string of sexual offences. There will be a follow up to this article when the Attorney General referral decision is recieved on August 1st 2014.
The case
On Monday Harris got found guilty of 12 charges of indecent assault on 4 girls aged between 7 and 19. 7 counts were against his daughter's childhood friend The jury sentenced him to 5 years and 9 months half of which will be served on license.The judge Sweeney J described Harris as showing 'no remorse' and being left with a reputation 'in ruins'. Essentially this means that within 3 years he will be back on the streets and able to abuse children.
On Monday Harris got found guilty of 12 charges of indecent assault on 4 girls aged between 7 and 19. 7 counts were against his daughter's childhood friend The jury sentenced him to 5 years and 9 months half of which will be served on license.The judge Sweeney J described Harris as showing 'no remorse' and being left with a reputation 'in ruins'. Essentially this means that within 3 years he will be back on the streets and able to abuse children.
More details and discussion of the case as it unfolded can be found in the following article from the Mirror http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/rolf-harris-sentencing-live-updates-3806866
Referral of the sentence to the Attorney General
Since Monday the sentence of 5 years and 9 months has been referred to the Attorney General Dominic Grieve who has 28 days to decide whether or not to increase the sentence. This is despite Sonia Woodley QC acting as Harris' defence barrister and arguing that since the assaults 20 years ago Harris has done good for society and his assaults after the assault of his daughter's friend were opportunistic rather than predatory.
Since Monday the sentence of 5 years and 9 months has been referred to the Attorney General Dominic Grieve who has 28 days to decide whether or not to increase the sentence. This is despite Sonia Woodley QC acting as Harris' defence barrister and arguing that since the assaults 20 years ago Harris has done good for society and his assaults after the assault of his daughter's friend were opportunistic rather than predatory.
For more information on the referral itself please read this Guardian article on the referral http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/04/rolf-harris-jail-sentence-review-attorney-general
Why the referral happened
It is believed the swntswnce is too short . Harris has shown no remorse and offered no explanation or apology for the pain he caused. One victim said he 'stole my childhood' whilst Sweeney J explained he caused immense psychological damage to his victims. Harris is also believed to be part of a wider paedophile group including Jimmy Savile as they visited hospitals together. Including in 1973 when savile gave Harris a personally guided tour of broadmoor where it has been reported by the Guardian (see the link below) that they watched patients undress and visited them at bedtime. http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jul/01/jimmy-savile-rolf-harris-alleged-tour-broadmoor
The infamous Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris enjoying a smoke and laugh together, their smiles hiding the horrendous double lives they were leading. Source http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/rolf-harris-may-have-watched-patients-undress-in-broadmoor-hospital-visit-with-jimmy-savile-9576747.html
As this case reaches its final resolution there is no doubt that more horrendous activities in which Harris took place will be revealed. I will endevour to keep you updated as often as I can. Thank you for reading.
