Rolf Harris to be retried on indecent assault charges
Updated
Australian entertainer Rolf Harris will face a new trial in London over four indecent assault charges.
The 86-year-old was last week cleared of two charges of indecent assault and one of sexual assault, but the jury could not reach verdicts on four other charges, prompting the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to seek a retrial.
Julia Walker, a lawyer for the CPS, told Southwark Crown Court the prosecution would be pursuing a new trial over three of the charges and one new count of indecent assault.
"This decision was taken after consideration of all the matters set out in our legal guidance on seeking re-trials when a jury has failed to agree on a verdict," a CPS spokesperson said in a statement.
The charges relate to girls aged between 13 and 16 at the time. One previous charge involving an 18-year-old woman will not be pursued.
The new charge involves a second allegation of indecent assault made by a woman who worked as a volunteer at a celebrity TV game show in Cambridge in 1978 as a 16-year-old.
The two other charges relate to a 14-year-old girl who sought an autograph at a youth music festival in 1971 and a 13-year-old girl who attended the live broadcast of a BBC TV show in 1983.
Harris has denied the allegations and is pleading not guilty to all charges.
He appeared in court via video-link from Stafford prison, where he is serving time for previous convictions of indecent assault against four females including a girl under 10 years of age.
The entertainer's lawyer, Stephen Vullo QC, told the court an appeal would be launched against these convictions.
Harris has never apologised to his victims for the crimes of which he was convicted in 2014 and has maintained he is innocent.
The trial is set to begin on May 15 with a new judge and jury.
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, courts-and-trials, england, united-kingdom
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