Rolf Harris browsed websites showing images of girls believed to be as young as 13, it can now be reported following his conviction for indecent assault.
When detectives examined the 84-year-old entertainer's desktop computer after they searched his home in Bray, Berkshire, in 2012 while investigating historical claims of indecent assault, they discovered he had visited websites with such names as "My little nieces", "Tiny teen girlfriends" and "Russian girlfriends".
They also found a note in Harris's diary, in his handwriting, with instructions on how to delete the history on his internet browser programme.
Harris was charged with four counts of making indecent images of children – the notion of "making" an image, based on a 1978 law, also includes viewing them on a computer – as well as the 12 counts of indecent assault on which he was unanimously convicted by a jury at Southwark crown court on Monday.
However, the 84-year-old Australian-born entertainer never entered a plea on the indecent images charges as his lawyers sought to have them dismissed by the court. At a hearing shortly before the trial Harris's lawyers successfully persuaded the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, that the four charges should be severed from the other counts, a legal term meaning they would be tried separately, if at all.
Harris's lawyers argued that they needed several more weeks to complete their defence on the indecent images charges, describing a long process in which private investigators sought to see ID cards of the models posing on the websites, many of whom were based in the Ukraine, to prove they were over 18. Faced with a choice of delaying a major trial, with the administrative chaos and attendant costs this would bring, or severing the charges, the judge had no option and the jury heard nothing about the images.
The Crown Prosecution Service will, in the wake of the other convictions, no longer proceed with the indecent images charges, prosecution QC Sasha Wass told the court on Friday.
The separation of the charges was seen as a major setback for the prosecution, who hoped to use the evidence about Harris's internet habits to support its wider argument that he had a sexual interest in very young women and girls. The charges on which Harris was eventually convicted covered victims aged from about eight upwards.
Harris's defence team argued this was precisely the reason why they should not be mentioned. The images would "infect the rest of the case", the defence barrister, Simon Ray, told the court. Ray also argued that Harris's browsing showed "no obvious minors" and no evidence of deliberate intent, since many images of the youngest-looking models seemingly appeared unprompted on websites visited by the star.
But Wass said some of the models involved were "extremely young in appearance" and were posing with props such as teddy bears. Expert examination of "very graphic" images of one girl's genitalia appeared to show she was aged 13 or under, Wass said.
Harris had searched online for terms such as "just teens" and "younger girls", Wass added.
