- By Michael Sheils McNamee
- BBC News
Disgraced former entertainer Rolf Harris, who was jailed for a series of indecent assaults on women, has died aged 93.
Harris was found guilty of a series of indecent assaults between 1968 and 1986 following a trial in 2014 – and was jailed for five years and nine months.
He was released from prison in 2017 – but never apologized to his victims.
Before his crimes came to light, Harris had been a fixture of family entertainment in Britain.
According to his death certificate, which was registered on Tuesday, he died of neck cancer and “debility of old age” at his home in Bray, Berkshire, on 10 May.
A statement released by his family said: “This is to confirm that Rolf Harris has recently passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest.
“They ask that you respect their privacy. No further comment will be made.”
Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, Harris was initially found guilty of 12 attacks on four women, mainly in the 1970s and 1980s.
A conviction, related to an allegation that he indecently assaulted an eight-year-old girl, was later overturned. But Court of Appeal judges dismissed his application to challenge the other 11 convictions.
The victims included two girls in their early teens and a friend of his daughter’s.
Picture of the queen
Before his crimes came to light, Harris was a prominent figure in the entertainment industry in Britain and his native Australia for more than 50 years.
He arrived in London in 1952, aged 21, and went on to host a series of TV shows and children’s variety shows as well as series about animals and art. Harris painted a portrait of the late Queen to mark her 80th birthday in 2006.
“You have shown no remorse for your crimes,” the judge told him. “Your reputation is now ruined, but you have no one to blame but yourself.”
Harris served three years of his sentence at Stafford Prison in Staffordshire. After his release, he returned home to Bray, Berkshire, with his wife Alwen – whom he married in 1958.
The couple has one daughter, Bindi.
