Last updated: December 29, 2014


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Rolf Harris to be on suicide watch as he heads to Wandsworth Jail

Harris faces fresh allegations and jail 2:22

Entertainer Rolf Harris could die behind bars after being found guilty of indecently assaulting four girls.

YESTERDAY he went to bed a revered figure and international star but Rolf Harris awoke this morning facing the prospect of dying in jail as a sinister pervert who used his status to depravedly abuse girls over a 40 year period.

There was stunned silence in Southwark Crown Court yesterday as in two minutes the 84-year-old’s finely crafted career 60-year show-business career collapsed with the jury’s proclamation they had found him guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault.

Each charge carries a maximum sentence of two years and Judge Nigel Sweeney told the court Harris would have to face a custodial sentence.

He asked defence barrister Sonia Woodley QC if her client understood that to which she replied that he did.

“In reality given the conviction on all 12 counts it is inevitable that the type of sentence that is uppermost in the court’s mind is a custodial sentence and he must understand that,” Judge Sweeney said.

It is not likely Harris will serve the maximum available sentence of 24 years due to his age and a range of health complaints including having had a minor stroke, two stents in arteries, bad legs, diabetes and suffering vertigo.

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Rolf Harris, Bindi Harris, Alwen Harris

Not well ... Rolf Harris, centre, accompanied by his daughter Bindi, right, and wife Alwen, at the Southwark Crown Court in London. Picture: Lefteris Pitarakis Source: AP

The judge asked Ms Woodley to prepare an updated medical statement ahead of a sentence being imposed on Friday. Legal observers expect his sentence to be similar to that of celebrity publicist Max Clifford, 71, who last month was sentenced to eight years with a non-parole of four years for eight counts of indecent assault.

Clifford was arrested by the same Operation Yewtree that probed Harris, glam rocker Gary Glitter and TV personality Jimmy Savile who has since been declared the most prolific sex offender in history with up to 500 victims.

On Friday Harris is expected to be firstly taken to Wandsworth Jail in south west London, the same jail that Australian actor and Hey Dad star Robert Hughes was taken to when he was arrested in London of child sex charges ahead of his extradition.

Harris is then expected to be taken to Her Majesty’s Prison Littlehey in Cambridgeshire which is a “Category C” minimum security prison for those who cannot be trusted in an open prison but whom are unlikely to escape.

Inside the jail ... a prisoner stands outside his cell on C wing of Wandsworth prison.

Inside the jail ... a prisoner stands outside his cell on C wing of Wandsworth prison. Source: Supplied

There he will have a private unit; it is where Clifford is currently residing.

Also there is 77-year-old career criminal Harry Roberts who has been in jail since 1966 for executing three police officers.

Harris will also be on suicide watch for a period. He had been suffering depression following his arrest in 2012 and his lawyers are likely to argue for a reduced sentence due to the severe stress of losing all since his convictions.

It is not clear whether Harris will have to forfeit some of his $19.9 million fortune his trial heard he had amassed during his successful 60-year career.

His home ... Rolf Harris owns this property near Bray, Berkshire. Picture: Oli Scarff/Get

His home ... Rolf Harris owns this property near Bray, Berkshire. Picture: Oli Scarff/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

He owns a large house on the River Thames at the village of Bray west of London where he normally lives with wife Alwen and has owned since the 1980s. During his trial he had been staying at a central London apartment he is also believed to own. He has also bought his daughter Bindi investment properties.

After he bizarrely sang Jake the Peg in court during his trial, prosecutor Sasha Wass QC said these were criminal charges from which he couldn’t escape.

“You can’t buy your way out of a criminal charge, you can’t bully your way out of a criminal charge, and you certainly can’t sing your way out of a criminal charge.”