CPS have discontinued a case of possessing indecent images against Rolf Harris

Still reading accounts from people minimising his offences as a 'groper' in a generation where groping was tolerated or acceptable. 'not a real paedophile' etc. Shamefully he was/is the real deal. I hope the sentence reflects that and that further efforts are made to bring more high profile abusers to justice. His efforts to engender pity or distract from his crimes ought to be rejected outright.

*discontinuance understandable due to him impending sentence.

 

Why have they discontinued it? Because they cant prove it or they just thought 'ah **** it it's only rolf'?

 

Harris' house was searched by police following his arrest, images were found on his computer. I don't know the level of the images (how severe they were) - but the sentencing powers attached to the offences would not outstrip the powers available to the court for his immediate convictions, and Harris would not a serve a consecutive sentence (it wouldn't increase his sentence) so it's not adding anything to the case and is therefore not in the public interest given that Harris is going to prison anyway. It was discontinued on the basis of public interest and not I favour of Rolf Harris. My source is Sky News who are reporting via twitter live from the Crown Court.

 

Unfortunately his sentence (as far as I understand it) will only reflect the punishment one could have expected to receive at the time the crime occurred. This was one of the reasons that the sentence for Stuart Hall was lenient in comparison to the crimes he committed.

 

It's not illegal to possess sexual imagery, they wouldn't have proposed charges unless they were indecent.

 

Might well still be long enough to see him die behind bars.

 

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#Rolf Charges of indecent child computer images are being dropped, Prosecutor tells judge.

 

I wish the court case had stuck to the serious stuff and not included the 'groping' in with it. Had they done that, the argument that he was just someone who felt women's arses wouldn't be there at all. The media would have stuck to reporting the fact that he was on trial for serious sexual offences. That's all anyone would have talked about. As it is the waters were muddied because one of the crimes he was convicted of was groping a waitress' arse. Traumatic for the young lass, no doubt, but it didn't help enlighten the general public of exactly what Rolf Harris is.

When his daughter's friend came round for sleep overs, Rolf was in the bedroom, fiddling. That's what the case should have stuck to.

 

That's a good point Jay because the 'groping' stuff and the 'it happened in the 70's' does sort of trivialise the case. It gives you an image of the Carry On films or Benny Hill chasing the Hills Angels with his famous music playing.

 

I agree with that. If you watched TV in the 70s and early 80s, it seemed like it was almost compulsory for men to be groping and ogling schoolgirls. It went right across the board in many of the popular British shows and films from the time. In fact, given the high incidence of misogyny and racism in those shows is it a surprise that life has imitated art for so many of the stars of the time.

 

Yes but they still had the power to sentence him consecutively rather than concurrently.

Listening to sky first thing if they did it consecutively he could have had upto 33 years.

Concurrently is a load of ********. Cos what that essentially does is sentence them for one crime (most serious) and the others are effectively ignored.