Anyone been following this story

MTR

MTR

Was debating whether to post or not to post this, here we go.

I have been following the Rolf Harris case currently in UK Courts. The jury is now out and I guess it wont be long before we hear the verdict.

I am from Perth and we fondly refer to RH as "the boy from Bassendean", a sad day indeed if he is in fact found guilty.

We were also discussing this at a friend's house, I made a big mistake by raising the RH issue. My friend felt that RH is in a similar scenario to what rock stars deal with on a daily basis and he mentioned Mick Jagger as an example, women throwing themselves at them. I have a problem with this comparison.... there is a huge difference between children and adults. Was very disappointed with this comment, as just did not see this coming from someone I consider highly intelligent.

MTR:)
 
Thats a pretty dumb comment by your friend. If 'throwing themselves at you' was a valid excuse, there'd be no such thing as either a rape or pedophilia charge.

And it's quite shocking about RH. Was always fun listening to his songs as a child, especially since he was a 'local'.
 
Totally DT, that's why so disappointing, I was gobsmacked really.

What was very strange in this case is when RH went on the stand etc the first thing he did was sing one of his songs "Jake the Peg"?, how weird is that. Prosecution basically told him .... "it was not a talent competition".
 
MTR said:
What was very strange in this case is when RH went on the stand etc the first thing he did was sing one of his songs "Jake the Peg"?, how weird is that. Prosecution basically told him .... "it was not a talent competition".
Click to expand...

Lol what a goose.

He's always come off as a bit of a rum chap to me. :confused:
 
MTR said:
Totally DT, that's why so disappointing, I was gobsmacked really.

What was very strange in this case is when RH went on the stand etc the first thing he did was sing one of his songs "Jake the Peg"?, how weird is that. Prosecution basically told him .... "it was not a talent competition".
Click to expand...

Pretty crazy act, however its a PR stunt amongst many to buy some more votes when you're losing too many.
 
MTR said:
Totally DT, that's why so disappointing, I was gobsmacked really.

What was very strange in this case is when RH went on the stand etc the first thing he did was sing one of his songs "Jake the Peg"?, how weird is that. Prosecution basically told him .... "it was not a talent competition".
Click to expand...

He's using the same PR Co. that Oscar Pritorius and the First Lady of Syria use... Apparently this was all part of the act to get the juror's on side.
 
Well I think it backfired badly.

The prosecution have got a very strong case, as the victims tell exactly the same story in detail, coincidence, I don't think so??? He also lied, he said he had never been to a particular town/city in UK where he was alleged to have molested a victim, they found footage to the contrary.
 
Even though I don't know anything about the evidence

From what i have hears he seems guilty as sin to me

Too many coincidences and discrepancies
 
I can't wait for the day when the media move on to a more recent and interesting news event, and only mention it once ever again when the verdict comes down.

Sorta like the whole Essendon Footy Club saga... :rolleyes:

The bloke is 80, hasn't lived here for centuries, was a star decades ago...but he is an Aussie, so let's belt the public around the head with it for months, hey?
 
It seems to me that the evidence against him is weak. I think he is a contemptible character - someone who sleeps with an 18 year old girl having watched her grow up) is just foul. He seems also to have no insight into his own behaviour - 'It takes two to tango' ..please. And that's the best case scenario.

But from what I've read it's oral evidence only and there is nothing to back up any of the allegations and some of them have credibility problems (one sold her story after lying to police about her arrangement with a magazine; the mother of the mother and daughter accusers had cartoons by Harris up in her daughter's bedroom for years after the alleged assaults). That is not to say that he didn't do it, but I'm not sure that we should be glad if the legal system will convict someone of so serious a crime with so little evidence.

My best guess is that he did do at least some of what he is accused of. But I don't think the evidence is there to convict him.
 
MaggieMcT said:
It seems to me that the evidence against him is weak. I think he is a contemptible character - someone who sleeps with an 18 year old girl having watched her grow up) is just foul. He seems also to have no insight into his own behaviour - 'It takes two to tango' ..please. And that's the best case scenario.

But from what I've read it's oral evidence only and there is nothing to back up any of the allegations and some of them have credibility problems (one sold her story after lying to police about her arrangement with a magazine; the mother of the mother and daughter accusers had cartoons by Harris up in her daughter's bedroom for years after the alleged assaults). That is not to say that he didn't do it, but I'm not sure that we should be glad if the legal system will convict someone of so serious a crime with so little evidence.

My best guess is that he did do at least some of what he is accused of. But I don't think the evidence is there to convict him.
Click to expand...

Hi Maggie

..... and that is what the defence is relying on "his good character" because that is all they have as their defence. This was also mentioned in the closing statement by the judge, I have attached link in previous post.

MTR:)
 
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Ausprop said:
can we wait for a verdict?
Click to expand...

Come on now- get into the spirit of things.

Mr. Fabulous said:
Oh my, Somersoft lynch mob!

He's innocent until proven guilty, dudes.
Click to expand...

You sound like on of those civil libber mamby pamby left wingers that some hate so much.

MTR said:
I believe there will be another court case after this one.

Police actually have confiscated child pornography from RH hard drive, this is fact. That's going to be a hard one to get out of seeing they actually have the physical evidence.

The judge summed it up and I think he did a pretty good job.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/rolf-harris-trial-judge-begins-summing-up-20140617-zsb55.html
Click to expand...

This will be interesting- the report I heard had about 24 images (?). The last kiddie porn downloader I defended (and he was slotted) had about 6000 images. These sort of people commonly collect libraries of it. The suggestion -as far as I read it in the article- was that he had these images as an inadvertent result of returned searches. Given that I once did a search on ww2 German armour and there were naked women in the lower ranked image results it is possible for people to collect unexpected results.

It is interesting the Crown chose to prosecute the child porn charges publically and at the time of the trial (not from the outset or after the trial had finished) - perhaps to help the jurors reach the "right" conclusion.

Very hard to defend allegations 20 or 30 years old.

Having said all that I reckon he'll go down on a few of the charges.

The ongoing relationship with the 18 yo was an abuse of his position of trust IMHO.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
lizzie said:
I just feel painfully sorry for his wife
Click to expand...

Hi Lizzie

His wife and daughter putting up a brave front, they have a lot to lose no doubt about that.

His daughter is currently paid a monthly allowance. There have also been emails from his daughter which were submitted in court regarding her concerns about her inheritance, RH is worth 11M pounds.

I was watching the antique road show where someone had one of RH paintings valued at 60,000 pounds, I doubt they will be worth much now, especially if he is convicted.
 
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