Abbie Sedgeman
Staff Writer
After being found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault, Rolf Harris has been sentenced to serve 5 years and 9 months in prison.
BBC News reports that Mr Justice Sweeny, the Southwark Crown Court Judge, says Harris showed “no remorse” as he was sentenced, and was told he had “no-one to blame but himself.”
He added: “Harris took advantage of the trust placed in you because of your celebrity status,” and treated one victim “like a toy.”
A statement to the court from one victim, the childhood friend of his daughter Bindi, revealed, “As a young girl I had aspirations to have a career, settle down and have a family. However, as a direct result of his actions, this has never materialised. The knowledge of what he had done to me haunted me.”
As Judge Mr Justice Sweeny states, Harris’ reputation now “lies in ruins.”