Rolf Harris, Disgraced TV Personality And Convicted Paedophile, Dies Aged 93

Harris previously served time in prison for a series of child sex offences.
Rolf Harris leaving court in 2017
Rolf Harris leaving court in 2017
JUSTIN TALLIS via Getty Images

Disgraced TV personality and convicted paedophile Rolf Harris has died at the age of 93.

A registrar at Maidenhead Town Hall confirmed news of his death to the PA news agency on Tuesday.

Harris, who was born in Australia, was arrested in 2013 as part of the Operation Yewtree investigation, and was later convicted of 12 indecent assaults in June 2014.

This included one on an eight-year-old girl, two on girls in their early teens and a catalogue of abuse against the daughter of a friend over a period of 16 years.

He was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison, but was released in 2017 after serving around three years.

Following his release, he had one of his indecent assault convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal, but a judge refused permission for Harris to appeal any more of his convictions.

In May 2017 he was formally cleared of four unconnected historical sex offences, which he had denied.

Harris initially rose to prominence in the 1950s for his music career, thanks to songs like Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, Jake The Peg and Two Little Boys, the latter of which peaked at number one in the UK.

In the later years of his career, Harris was better known for his work as a TV presenter, fronting the likes of Animal Hospital and Rolf’s Cartoon Club.

Harris had previously been appointed a CBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2006, whose portrait he had famously been commissioned to paint a year earlier. His honours were eventually rescinded in 2015, following his conviction.

Around the time of his death, ITV had begun airing a new documentary about Harris’ crimes, titled Rolf Harris: Hiding In Plain Sight.

Close

What's Hot