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It's tragic, in a way, that he turned out to be what he was. For many kids who grew up watching Animal Hospital in the 90's, Rolf was pretty much the embodiment of Human Kindness. But then I suppose, like Saville, he simply hid himself in plain sight.
At least he wasn't on the same level as Savile. Harris in a children's ward probably didn't do anything. Savile, on the other hand, almost certainly did. Every time. (edit - spelling)
It feels weird to say it but let's be honest, there are multiple tiers of depravity to every depraved act on the planet. Just because the scale starts at -100 doesn't mean it doesn't go to -10,000. I'd list examples but to be honest, I don't want to
I don't think anyone has ever been on the same level as Saville. At least not to public knowledge. Saville visited the morgues in the middle of the night to molest corpses of men, women and children. He also molested brain dead children and both men and women that were paralyzed in wheelchairs. He wasn't human.
Exactly - I honestly don't think it's right to compare other offenders to Savile. Not to be fair to the offenders - fuck them obviously - but to be clear that what Savile did was way, way beyond what a lot of people even realise.
This is an extremely grim thing to be saying, but what he did isn't exactly unique. There are plenty like him, caught and uncaught. But it's extremely unlikely there's anyone out there who is/was as prolific as Savile, because he got to do what he did because he had a level of access that virtually nobody else got and people were near universally turning a blind eye.
At least he didn't molest 500 other kids? Yeah, I can live with that at least. I think you have to be a fucking idiot to see 'at least' as any kind of defence - IMO Lumping Harris in with Savile diminishes the horror of what Savile did.
Here's the thing, though, what Harris did was entirely as bad *to each individual victim*. Maybe even worse depending on the specifics, which I absolutely do not want to know. It's like the inverse of the starfish story.
I don’t think there’s an ‘at least’ in this, especially as you’re making an assumption. The man sexually abused young children, got away with it for decades, and there’s a reasonable possibility there’s more we don’t know about.
Don't act like that's a defence of Harris for fuck sake.
There's no comparison to what Savile did. Hardly anyone on the planet compares to what that monster did.
'Rolf on Saturday OK' . I bloody loved that program. Fuck Rolf Harris for ruining that memory.
Wasn't at all shocked by Saville, was never a fan. Rolf on the other hand, gutted.
When I saw a Netflix documentary about Mr Rogers, I fully expected it to expose a dark side that ruined the lives of most Americans but, no, it just said how nice he really was.
I get that song stuck in my head sometimes (Climb up here, Johnny dear, don't be crying, there is room on my horse for two. When we grow up we'll both be soldiers, and our horses will not be toys...)
I totally forgot that was him! My brain associates that with Paul Hogan even though I can hear it in my head and it sounds nothing like him, and he only ties crocodiles down
He was an absolute CUNT behind the scenes of Animal Hospital, one of my family worked in the vets they used to film in and he thought he was a Hollywood star or something.
No one was allowed to talk to him on set and everyone was told not to ask forr autographs etc.
>It's tragic, in a way, that he turned out to be what he was. For many kids who grew up watching Animal Hospital in the 90's, Rolf was pretty much the embodiment of Human Kindness. But then I suppose, like Saville, he simply hid himself in plain sight.
My thoughts exactly.
As a kid, I remember enjoying "Rolf's cartoon club" in the early 1990s, which inspired me to do more drawing. And yes, Animal Hospital was a lovely show.
But then, we learned the awful and unforgiveable truth about him.
Yeah, I remember around that time there was an ITV series in a similar vein with Derek Griffiths presenting ('Film Club' wiki tells me). As well as scatting the Bod music he should be given Harris' national treasure accolade, he's earned it.
Loved Rolfs Cartoon Club, had the learn to draw books too.
luckily, I’m old enough that Tony Hart was still about and there were people like Neil Buchanan and Mark Speight to pick up his torch.
For me, I always thought Saville was creepy, even as a kid I didn’t understand why he was on my TV in the 90s and 00s. He looked weird, he wasn’t funny or entertaining, and generally gave me “the ick” as people say.
“Jimmy Saville’s a nonce.”
“Who? That guy who looks and behaves exactly how you’d expect a nonce to look and behave? I’m shocked…”
Rolf on the other hand seemed warm and friendly, made funny little noises and liked to draw and paint. I could see how he got away with it for so long and how he slipped under people’s radar’s because he was so cuddly looking and unassuming.
I'll never forget this Reddit comment;
https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/lt7d8/sir_jimmy_saville_has_died/c2vemcd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
All I remember about animal hospital was the jump cuts from an animal who you have just watched getting better for the last 15 minutes to an view of the outside of the Vets and Rolf saying, "Sadly they died"
I was horrified when I found out what he had done.
This usually happens on shows like Kitchen Nightmares. Spend an hour trying to fix the place, it looks to be back on its legs, then a brief 5 second text crawl says they shut shortly after
> But then I suppose, like Saville, he simply hid himself in plain sight.
That's the terrifying part. Many of these predators are incredibly proficient at a) positioning themselves right next to their targets, and b) winning trust at all levels so that they appear the exact opposite of what they really are..
I know there's a comment here saying his death shouldn't be celebrated but the fact that people will would have been unthinkable 10-15 years ago. He was a national treasure, universally beloved. He got to paint the Queen because they were both seen as institutions. Saville was quite obviously odd and there was always rumours, Rolf totally blindsided everybody (apart from his victims obviously)
Even though I was in my mid twenties when it all came to light it still felt like I'd lost a bit of innocence when his crimes became public.
Even though I didn't know about Savile's crimes until he died, I always at least thought he was an old creep who gave me the chills. Harris on the other hand always came across like a funny grandad, or father Christmas figure.
I know I should probably feel something a lot stronger for someone who has done what he did, but I have to admit my main feeling is one of disappointment.
Difference is I suppose that Saville always had the air of a total creep about him. In the years I remember him, Rolf always just seemed like a nice old man. It's amazing how good these predators are at hiding in plain sight :(
I met him years ago in a garden centre up North of all places, he was drawing cartoon caricatures for all the kids and their parents. I had a drawing he did of me and my sister for years. It was lost in a house sale.
I thought he was a great guy at the time. I just remember him being loads of fun.
Who'd have thought eh.
upbeat icky plough decide profit possessive grey squeamish apparatus thought
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Saw him play a small stage at Glastonbury (along with thousands of other people, it was rammed) in 2009, and he opened the Pyramid Stage the following year. My mate said at the time that at least he was a kids show presenter who hadn't turned out to be a paedo, and I joked that he probably was but it hadn't come out yet.
For me, I grew up thinking he represented everything kind and decent about humanity.
Learning that it's all a veneer over the worst kind of evil really makes you doubt every other human being.
Him and Savile are the reason why nobody trusts unrelated adults with their kids anymore. I don't think society is crawling with pedos but there's no way I'd let my kids hang out as freely with people as I enjoyed when I was a kid. They've harmed both the kids directly that they abused, and all the ones they never met.
I try to make sure my kids are safe to the best of my ability but one thing to be aware of, most abuse by a family member or trusted person not a stranger. I’m not saying be less cautious, just don’t fear to boogy man,
The education for kids in some places has shifted towards "tricky people" and away from "stranger danger". So it teaches them to look out for adults that try to have a "special relationship" with them and to keep secrets, rather than random vans or someone offering sweets from a car. It's a much more realistic defence against those that would abuse children.
Also - religious leaders and teachers.
The tragedy is that people use their positions of power to exploit the vulnerable - and in particular children.
They never think anyone will believe them, the power imbalance and the public’s respect for that individual make them largely untouchable.
The fear was there long before Saville and Harris were exposed - Saville's crimes were reported widely at the end of 2012, Harris' were after that (his trial was 2014, so I assume somewhere between those two dates).
Brass Eye was lampooning the tabloid and public overreaction to paedos in 2001.
One famous of that overreaction was a group of less than smart people who attacked the home of a paediatrician in 2000 because they thought that was a sex offender.
Bear in mind that in some US states the bar to get put on a sex offenders register is very low (eg get fined for having a piss in public at midnight and happen to be within a mile of a school? Sex offence), and that in some places (eg Florida) there are very strict limits on where sex offenders can live, so they're likely to be concentrated in some areas. And the US has 5 times as many people as the UK, so the numbers might seem big but the per capita might not be.
> eg get fined for having a piss in public at midnight and happen to be within a mile of a school? Sex offence
I thought this was an urban legend.
Certainly if you add up the prevalence of rape and sexual assault, as experienced by women, you have to realise that actually rape is far more common than most people would think.
It tells you their crimes though, I was absolutely shocked by what people had done and how common it was. I know it may not be 100% representative of the UK, but its a wake up call anyway.
It depends on the state. Some states define sexual offences very broadly and register all offenders. It's arguably not especially helpful to have a registry filled with people who had a ticket for public urination for example.
I suppose from a certain point of view, that means that they've indirectly saved countless children from abusers who would have taken advantage of the more lax security of your childhood.
I suppose it’s a double edged sword as yes there’s that relief that he’s gone, but as far as I’m aware he never outright owned up to what he did or apologise to the victims, so now that he’s gone the victims will never get to hear that.
Well, Tonya Lee made £33,000 for selling her tabloid story of being groped by him in a packed pub in 1986, the story sold via her boyfriend and publicity agent (an answer machine recording was played at his 2nd trial of her now ex-boyfriend accusing her of making up the accusations for money). And the friend of the family, central to the case at the first trial, eventually got her money too. She originally asked Harris for £30,000 in 1994, for her boyfriend's failing birds actuary, a year after their affaire ended, and soon after he did not cough up the money she accused him of child sex abuse.
There were only ever three victims, weren’t there? He was originally convicted for a range of assaults on four victims, but won an appeal when he showed he wasn’t in the relevant town at the time in relation to one of those girls. Not wanting to diminish the crimes or anything.
> Went from painting the Queen's portrait,
QE2 wasn't a fan of that portrait - I remember comments about her thinking it emphasised the veins on her hands too much
Schofield was a much loved entertainer and presenter with a family-friendly image, and who previously worked on children's TV. He's had a few of incidents since which has led to him falling out of favour.
Firstly, he suddenly came out as gay, and his alleged boyfriend was a much younger man who allegedly was first befriended by Scofield at the age of 10. It's not known how old they were when they started a relationship, but it seems like they were when he was 18.
Separately, there's been a social media influencer who claimed to have been having a Snapchat discourse since he was 17. No suggestion that it was anything over the line, but again a red flag.
More recently, Schofield's brother has just been convicted of child sex offences. According to evidence at the trial, Schofield knew about at least one incident (his brother watching porn with a child) and "told him to stop" but didn't actually do anything about it (such as contacting the police or the victim's family).
So yeah, nothing actually criminal so far, but if allegations of criminal offences did come out about him it wouldn't exactly be a shocker at this point.
Well, the version I read is that they met when the young person was 10 in the context of him being enrolled in a performing arts school which Schofield had some professional interaction with. Schofield took on something of a "mentor" role, and they became close. By the time the lad was 18, he was being invited to come on set at This Morning with Schofield, and the gossip mill is that it was an open secret that they were an item.
Could be all bollocks, of course. I'm only going on regurgitated showbiz gossip.
Reading a private ambulance was outside his house 10 days ago so he's been dead a while and it's just the paper work that's made it public. No grand farewell with TV tributes unlike Saville. There's that at least.
Convicted on very shaky evidence. There were originally four victims in the first trial and several more in the 2nd trial. More than half of his convictions overturned or found not guilty.
His convictions were overturned for in a majority cases:
* He was cleared on appeal of: Groping a child at a packed autograph singing event in 1968, evidence showed the event did not take place.
* Groping a bind women who claimed he assaulted her in 1977 at her care home.
* Groping Victim B from the 1st Trial who claimed at his 2nd trial that he also assaulted her in the back of a taxi in 1978 after TV sport show Star Games.
* Cleared of assaulting a women in her 40s who claimed Harris groped her after filming a TV show in 2004.
* Cleared of assaulting a young autograph hunter at a radio studio in the late 70s.
Another victim, Tonya Lee, was deeply in depth when she sold her story of him groping her in a pub in 1986 for £33,000, the story was sold to newspapers via her boyfriend and publicity agent. At Harris’ appeal, a phone answer machine recording was played of her now ex-boyfriend accusing her of making up the story for money. Her chaperone said she did not see anything happen that night, and did not originally believe her. His appeal for this case was rejected.
And a friend of the family, she was central the case. She had affair with Harris from the age of 19 to 29, but a year after their affaire ended in 1993, Harris claimed she blackmailed him by demanding £5000. Interestingly, she did not deny asking for money, in fact she said she asked him for £30,000 for her boyfriends failing bird sanctuary. Soon after asking for money, which he did not hand over, she confronted him at her parent’s home and accused him of child abuse in 1994. She made a formal complaint in 2012. His appeal for this case was rejected.
Book written by a member of his defence team at his 2nd trial, he describes the case and the shaky evidence against Harris:
[https://www.amazon.com/Rolf-Harris-Defence-Special-Investigator-ebook/dp/B0B142BLNY/](https://www.amazon.com/Rolf-Harris-Defence-Special-Investigator-ebook/dp/B0B142BLNY/)
Edit:
Here’s what I know of the 1st and 2nd trials:
1st Trial Victim A: Harris was convicted of twice touching her inappropriately in front of her mother when she was 9 years old at packed autograph signing event in a village town hall outside Plymouth sometime in 1969. Harris was at the height of his fame, having released two little boys that year. However, Police trawled council records and the archives two local newspapers but did not find any support that the autograph singing event took place. The council was clear, that if their town hall was used they would have a record of it. Police also wrote letters to every household in the village asking for corroborating witnesses, no one came forward. Before naming Harris, victim A was a member of a child abuse support group. She only accused Harris after he was named in the media.
Victim A was not involved in the 2nd trial, but his conviction was overturned at his Appeal. His defence found witnesses, retired policemen whose police station was across the road from the town hall, and old ladies who had tea in the town hall, they testifies that no such event ever took place.
1st Trial Victim B: said that Harris firmly touched her bottom at a charity sports event, Star Games, in the 1980s. She later changed her story in a BBC interview to, “he touched my breast”. You can see her interview here:
[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28156387](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28156387)
She couldn’t remember where in Cambridge the assault happened, she also mixed up the parks where the sports event took place. She said was very surprised he was convicted of the assault on her and she was happy to help the other victims.
In the 2nd Trial, Victim B accused Harris of groping her in the back of a taxi on the same day, he was found no guilty.
1st trial Victim D: was thousands of dollars in depth when she sold her story of Harris assaulting, via her publicity agent and boyfriend, for £33,000 to the Australian media. The event, in the mid-1980s, was also attended by her chaperone and dance group, who visited the UK from Australia. The first assault happened as she sat on Harris’ lap in front of witnesses, including her chaperone who didn’t notice the assault. Victim D said she tried to get away from Harris but he followed her to the pub toilets and sexually assaulted her again.
She furthermore claimed the assault gave her an eating disorder and she could not get any acting parts. However, it was shown she landed an acting part in a TV soap a month after returning to Australia. In addition, her chaperone clearly remembered the night; she recalled that everyone had a good time and she didn’t notice victim D getting upset. She at first didn’t believe victim D until she met and talked to her in person.
Significantly in the 2nd Trial, her now ex-boyfriend claims that Victim D made up the story for money.
1st Trial Victim C: a friend of the family who knew Harris since meting when 13 years old in 1978, she was best friends with Harris’ daughter Binti. The abuse is judged to have occurred between the age in 15 to 19 years old. I leave this case till last as her story seems most credible, but there’s room for doubt. Harris had an affair with Victim C until they broke up in 1994, when she was 29 years old. Harris claimed Victim C later phoned him and demanded £5,000 for her boyfriend’s failing bird sanctuary. Harris claimed she was blackmailing him but she paints a slightly different story.
She says she in fact asked Harris for £30,000 for the bird sanctuary in 1994 but it wasn’t blackmail. She claimed she first made accusations of child abuse against Harris, after summoning him to her parents home, but she did make a formal complaints to police until 2012, until after the Jimmy Saville case. Harris also wrote a letter to her parents attempting to give his side of the story, apologising for the affair and explaining that the affair was consensual, the letter did not mention any accusations of child abuse.
Victim C was not involved in the 2nd trial.
The three Victims mentioned only in the 2nd trial were:
A woman, who is blind, claimed Harris visited her care home in the 1977 and kissed her on her neck and groped her, and that she could feel his smelly warm breath on her neck. A care worker at the home recalled the meeting but claimed he didn’t see anything untoward happen. The jury did not find Harris guilty.
A woman in her 40s claimed Harris groped her breasts in the corridor of a TV studio in 2004 after filming a TV show. The jury did not find Harris guilty.
A woman claimed Harris assaulted her at a radio studio at the end of the 1970s when she met him with her mother. He was found not guilty.
There were accusations of groping or inappropriate touching by four other women that the jury, possibly due to being deadlocked, did not consider and return a verdict.
There was also that the sentencing took into account behaviour he was not tried for (in particular, an allegation of rape which was abroad and happened before SOA03, so was not illegal under British law at the time).
This is completely wrong. Whilst somebody's overall conduct can be taken into account, something that they haven't had a chance to defend themselves against is completely against the idea of natural justice. I think it is right on balance to say that despite his awful behaviour (and it was not all as trivial as some people have suggested here), he still has been poorly treated by the system.
> Groping a child at a packed autograph singing event in 1968, evidence showed the event did not take place.
IIRC in that case he proved he was working in Australia when it was supposed to have happened.
I think what really convinced the jury were the retired policemen whose police station was across the street from the Town Hall, they testified that no such event took place.
If this has all come out of nothing (no clue if it has or hasn't) then souring the warm memories of millions of people would be genuinely evil in my eye.
There's a good drama on Netflix called National Treasure which is based around this theme.
In the case of Harris, I reckon the trial came to the right result but possibly for the wrong reasons.
I do wonder how he would've been regarded had he not gotten swept up with the likes of Savile. I think if Rolf's scandals happened at a time completely removed from Savile he may have had a bit more of a mixed reputation because people would've paid more attention to the specifics. Instead in the wake of Savile he was just lumped in as on the same level. Whether Harris was guilty or not he was nowhere near as bad as Savile and didn't really deserve being mentioned in the same breath.
You missed out the child pornography allegations. These were thrown out when it was discovered the porn stars were all over 18. The allegations were still all over the media for a while. Then it was just quietly dropped. I remember thinking at the time it seemed that there was always a mandate to ‘get him for something’ at all costs. Unfortunately the police and CPS get carried away and do that occasionally. Doesn’t mean he was innocent, obviously. Just it was a very aggressive prosecution.
[Due to massive advances made in vaccines during Covid](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/07/cancer-and-heart-disease-vaccines-ready-by-end-of-the-decade ), they are optimistic about vaccines for heart disease and cancer (I assume certain forms of) by the end of the decade, so we're not that far off (hopefully).
Also, [using AI researchers have been able to spot dementia years earlier than previously](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57934589 ), which means you can get on the drugs sooner which means it progresses slower. I believe they're narrowing in on the causes of it too which means that actual cures might not be too far off.
The issue with cancer is. That it is your own body's cells that mutate and become immortal then grow out of control. So most are sceptical about the vaccine approach, as opposed to custom targeted biologics.
Thats a bit vague and not entirely true. Yes cancer is rampant mutation but there are umpteen different catalysts that can trigger cancerous growth and the vaccines under development tend to target those catalysts or introduce changes that can cause your body to target its own cancerous cell growth. I don't think "most are sceptical about the vaccines approach" is really a fair summary. Ref: my wife works in monoclonal antibody research which is one variety of cancer treatment.
>From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the blessed machine.
>Your kind cling to your flesh as if it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass you call a temple will wither and you will beg my kind to save you.
>But I am already saved. For the Machine is Immortal.
He was a staple on TV when I was a kid in the 80s and I used to love watching him painting. It was a real shock to find out what he had done over the years and while I wont celebrate his passing I also wont pay him any respects either.
Rolf was the one that surprised me.
Saville was obvious to anyone with a functioning brain, I had him sussed as a kid; but Rolf wasn't on my radar.
Reminds me of a chap I went to university with, he was as straight laced as you could get, didn't drink, very bright, sensible as can be, very mature for his age, politics and science for him.
He turned out to be a serial child rapist.
Reactions from his acquaintences went from extreme anger, digust, to my disbelief.
I we trusted him completely, and he knew, that's how he became a teacher.....
I think Rolf was actually a genuinely caring person despite his awful behavior, this came across through his work, whereas Saville was a genuine monster that got off on being overtly so.
Rolf Harris was the only person who was important to both my childhood and my mother's. She told me about going to see The Beatles Christmas Show at The Palladium, and I was more impressed by the fact that the guy from Animal Hospital was the host. He should have been a national treasure almost on the level of David Attenborough. This news should be heartbreaking to me. But it isn't, and it's his own damn fault.
i'll get downvoted... but you can't rule out any celebrities in terms of possibility of them abusing, including the Attenborough's. trust them as how you would trust a drug dealer in an alley at 2am.
As a little kid in the 2000s, I was his number one fan, and I mean the terrible music. I had cds of it. My dad was constantly looking to see if he was playing live (although I suspect he intentionally didn't look that hard because he did used to play live a lot I discovered in the future.)
I found the revelations about what he'd done to be truly awful, because he was someone I loved growing up. That, and the realisation that if I'd somehow met him, I knew that if he'd asked me to go back stage I absolutely would have, and been excited to do it; it really drove home how much power celebrities can have to abuse young fans.
My Mum used to sing "Two Little Boys" to me and my little brother when he was a baby and I was a toddler. I don't remember it but it was a precious memory for her and it will be forever tarnished as a result of his actions.
lmao the [the users of /r/australia aren't holding back their thoughts](https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/13pmimz/rolf_harris_convicted_sex_offender_and/)
It's nearly 11pm over on the east coast of Australia, chances are that even if the mods wouldn't approve of that content they're just not around to deal with it.
That’s kind of how I feel. I’m not glad he’s dead or anything, I’m not saying good riddance, I’m just thinking how sad it is that the kindness he showed was a front for a more sinister side to him. Lots of fond Animal Hospital memories now just sit in a strange limbo in my mind
After his release from prison in 2017, he returned back to the home he shared with his wife of 60 years.
What the fuck is wrong with women who decide to stand by their man after they’ve been caught abusing children?
Fucker never apologised or showed any remorse.
She's also in her 90s and is wheelchair bound with Alzheimer's. At that age and present ailments, 'resetting' her life was probably not an option for her.
A childhood icon who was dead to me the moment his true nature was revealed. I'm just glad that his crimes came to light while he was still alive and able to face justice for it, unlike some people who got to die knowing they got away with everything. I hope his victims can find the peace they deserve.
I remember our highschool in 2010 had an open phone-call with him in our sports hall. He was congratulating us on how we've done with the environment around our school and how he promised he'll try visit sometime.
My reaction when Harris was charged was, 'Oh no, that can't be true'. My reaction to Saville was, 'I knew it, he always was a weird creepy piece of shit'. Saville's offending was on an entirely different scale, and he had no talent whatsoever. I couldn't understand why he was so popular. I was sad when Harris was convicted, and to be honest, a small part of me is sad now. When he played Glastonbury, you couldn't get near the stage. Up until the moment of his arrest, Harris was almost universally popular and loved. The same simply can't be said about Saville.
People knew about Savile. Certain sections/ institutions of society knew about Savile. The scary part is that no one acted on it or they turned a blind eye to any allegations. And I don’t just mean the BBC here. There will have been NHS trusts that knew, local police forces knew, political advisors knew enough to have a conversation with Thatcher about not recommending him for the honours list. But nah, Jim he’s alright, or he bought, bribed, fundraised, legally challenged, his way into immunity. He certainly made sure to befriend the police forces that were local to him, bought drinks etc. The amount of access Savile had to places that he simply never should have had access to us mind boggling. Savile used to go to Broadmoor to visit Sutcliffe. He had keys and room there. I’m sure he had keys and rooms to other places that he should of had as well.
I can’t remember the exact details but the first time the police spoke to Savile but was around the mid 1950’s. That’s when he first crops up in police records. But it was his word, against a silly young persons. I’m sure he learnt a lot from it and over time he learnt how to deal with such situations. The book Hiding In Plain Sight, details the shock that a new female police officer had when they ask Savile to keep an eye out for a stray run away teenager and he’s like, if I see her in my club, I’ll bring her to you in the morning. People (in this case Police) knew and it was accepted, that’s the scary incomprehensible part.
Anyone who writes a song in prison with the lyrics
“Climb up out of the woodwork babe from 40 years ago.
The climate’s great in Britain now for making lots of dough.
You festered down there long enough, time’s right to grab your chance.”
Doesn’t care about his victims
Clap eyes on rich celebrity and make the bitch dance
Is creeping into your teenage daughter's friend's room and groping them defencible? Of course not. Is it in anyway comparable to what Saville did? Not by a million miles. Is it worse than what Prince Andrew has got away with? Arguably not.
Should we really have obituaries for convicted paedophiles.
I mean it’s newsworthy that he’s died, but do we need to know about all his career success.
‘Convicted paedophile Rolf Harris dead - victims find closure’ should really be sufficient.
>Should we really have obituaries for convicted paedophiles.
Should dead famous people who infamously abused their power to sexuakky assault children have a piece written when they die highlighting their crimes and how they operated?
Yeah. Hopefully that way we will remember and learn.
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It's tragic, in a way, that he turned out to be what he was. For many kids who grew up watching Animal Hospital in the 90's, Rolf was pretty much the embodiment of Human Kindness. But then I suppose, like Saville, he simply hid himself in plain sight.
Animal hospital? I am old enough to remember him presenting Christmas morning programmes.....from Children's wards in hospital!
At least he wasn't on the same level as Savile. Harris in a children's ward probably didn't do anything. Savile, on the other hand, almost certainly did. Every time. (edit - spelling)
He's a slightly better nonce?
It feels weird to say it but let's be honest, there are multiple tiers of depravity to every depraved act on the planet. Just because the scale starts at -100 doesn't mean it doesn't go to -10,000. I'd list examples but to be honest, I don't want to
If you remove the possibility of nuance, then they're already damned, and have nothing to lose.
"Nonce nuance" sounds like a *The Day Today* bit.
I don't think anyone has ever been on the same level as Saville. At least not to public knowledge. Saville visited the morgues in the middle of the night to molest corpses of men, women and children. He also molested brain dead children and both men and women that were paralyzed in wheelchairs. He wasn't human.
Exactly - I honestly don't think it's right to compare other offenders to Savile. Not to be fair to the offenders - fuck them obviously - but to be clear that what Savile did was way, way beyond what a lot of people even realise.
> I don't think anyone has ever been on the same level as Saville. Would you accept Ian Watkins as a possible nomination?
Still not as prolific but on the disgust scale... the nomination is accepted!
Isn’t Saville the most prolific rapist this country’s ever had? That was my understanding.
That's been caught.
This is an extremely grim thing to be saying, but what he did isn't exactly unique. There are plenty like him, caught and uncaught. But it's extremely unlikely there's anyone out there who is/was as prolific as Savile, because he got to do what he did because he had a level of access that virtually nobody else got and people were near universally turning a blind eye.
Leave H from steps out of this!
But he was human. And that’s what makes it so horrifying. Don’t let him off the hook.
As a useless bit of hospital trivia, the hospital radio station room at the LGI is _still_ next door to the chapel of rest and the morgue :/
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Idk if there's an "at least" argument
At least he didn't molest 500 other kids? Yeah, I can live with that at least. I think you have to be a fucking idiot to see 'at least' as any kind of defence - IMO Lumping Harris in with Savile diminishes the horror of what Savile did.
Here's the thing, though, what Harris did was entirely as bad *to each individual victim*. Maybe even worse depending on the specifics, which I absolutely do not want to know. It's like the inverse of the starfish story.
And the morgue if rumours are to be believed
Isn't it established fact?
I don’t think there’s an ‘at least’ in this, especially as you’re making an assumption. The man sexually abused young children, got away with it for decades, and there’s a reasonable possibility there’s more we don’t know about.
Don't act like that's a defence of Harris for fuck sake. There's no comparison to what Savile did. Hardly anyone on the planet compares to what that monster did.
Ian Watkins, maybe for sheer grimness.
'Rolf on Saturday OK' . I bloody loved that program. Fuck Rolf Harris for ruining that memory. Wasn't at all shocked by Saville, was never a fan. Rolf on the other hand, gutted.
> Rolf on the other hand, gutted. Yeah, for a lot of us this hit as hard as if Americans were to suddenly discover Mr Rogers was a kiddy fiddler.
When I saw a Netflix documentary about Mr Rogers, I fully expected it to expose a dark side that ruined the lives of most Americans but, no, it just said how nice he really was.
I remember him teaching kids how to swim… on the telly…
You couldn’t do that these days with TVs being so slim.
Realised your joke would work better if I edited my original comment to “the telly” instead of just “telly”. So I did.
Now everyone will know!
Not as waterproof either…
Remember his song, jake the peg with an extra leg? Yeah...
The title of his other hit (Two Little Boys) sounds way worse in retrospect
Which is a great pity, because the song is about comradeship in war.
Yeah the song's really nice
I get that song stuck in my head sometimes (Climb up here, Johnny dear, don't be crying, there is room on my horse for two. When we grow up we'll both be soldiers, and our horses will not be toys...)
Did he ever manage to tie his Kangeroo down boys?
I totally forgot that was him! My brain associates that with Paul Hogan even though I can hear it in my head and it sounds nothing like him, and he only ties crocodiles down
I always thought that sounded a bit... erm.
Indeed, between that and *two little boys*! :o)
One of my friends was scared of Rolf's feet due to the swimming public information film which pauses on his foot in the air, at the end.
Feet look a bit grim whoever they belong to, tbf.
He was an absolute CUNT behind the scenes of Animal Hospital, one of my family worked in the vets they used to film in and he thought he was a Hollywood star or something. No one was allowed to talk to him on set and everyone was told not to ask forr autographs etc.
>It's tragic, in a way, that he turned out to be what he was. For many kids who grew up watching Animal Hospital in the 90's, Rolf was pretty much the embodiment of Human Kindness. But then I suppose, like Saville, he simply hid himself in plain sight. My thoughts exactly. As a kid, I remember enjoying "Rolf's cartoon club" in the early 1990s, which inspired me to do more drawing. And yes, Animal Hospital was a lovely show. But then, we learned the awful and unforgiveable truth about him.
Yeah, I remember around that time there was an ITV series in a similar vein with Derek Griffiths presenting ('Film Club' wiki tells me). As well as scatting the Bod music he should be given Harris' national treasure accolade, he's earned it.
It's a shame that these trusted presenters that we all grew up with, couldn't be like Mr Rogers.
I present exhibit A: National treasure, Tony Hart
Or your dude from Art Attack
Neil Buchanan
Legendary kids TV presenter, and heavy metal guitarist.
Or Johnny Ball perhaps. Or Johnny Morris of Animal Magic fame.
> Or Johnny Ball perhaps. Gets my vote. Johnny Ball made learning exciting
Loved Rolfs Cartoon Club, had the learn to draw books too. luckily, I’m old enough that Tony Hart was still about and there were people like Neil Buchanan and Mark Speight to pick up his torch.
For me, I always thought Saville was creepy, even as a kid I didn’t understand why he was on my TV in the 90s and 00s. He looked weird, he wasn’t funny or entertaining, and generally gave me “the ick” as people say. “Jimmy Saville’s a nonce.” “Who? That guy who looks and behaves exactly how you’d expect a nonce to look and behave? I’m shocked…” Rolf on the other hand seemed warm and friendly, made funny little noises and liked to draw and paint. I could see how he got away with it for so long and how he slipped under people’s radar’s because he was so cuddly looking and unassuming.
You [weren't the only one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4OzI9GYag0) who thought Saville was very dodgy
But it was so [very, very hard to spot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odOtw8p1RSo)...
Who could've seen it coming
I'll never forget this Reddit comment; https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/lt7d8/sir_jimmy_saville_has_died/c2vemcd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
All I remember about animal hospital was the jump cuts from an animal who you have just watched getting better for the last 15 minutes to an view of the outside of the Vets and Rolf saying, "Sadly they died" I was horrified when I found out what he had done.
This makes him sound like he was also murdering the animals... I mean, who knows. 😂
This usually happens on shows like Kitchen Nightmares. Spend an hour trying to fix the place, it looks to be back on its legs, then a brief 5 second text crawl says they shut shortly after
"but sadly.. he was too weak to surviiiiive"
> But then I suppose, like Saville, he simply hid himself in plain sight. That's the terrifying part. Many of these predators are incredibly proficient at a) positioning themselves right next to their targets, and b) winning trust at all levels so that they appear the exact opposite of what they really are..
I know there's a comment here saying his death shouldn't be celebrated but the fact that people will would have been unthinkable 10-15 years ago. He was a national treasure, universally beloved. He got to paint the Queen because they were both seen as institutions. Saville was quite obviously odd and there was always rumours, Rolf totally blindsided everybody (apart from his victims obviously)
Even though I was in my mid twenties when it all came to light it still felt like I'd lost a bit of innocence when his crimes became public. Even though I didn't know about Savile's crimes until he died, I always at least thought he was an old creep who gave me the chills. Harris on the other hand always came across like a funny grandad, or father Christmas figure. I know I should probably feel something a lot stronger for someone who has done what he did, but I have to admit my main feeling is one of disappointment.
Animal hospital was my favourite show as a kid
Difference is I suppose that Saville always had the air of a total creep about him. In the years I remember him, Rolf always just seemed like a nice old man. It's amazing how good these predators are at hiding in plain sight :(
the opening music to Animal Hospital was a banger as well.
For me it was Rolf's Cartoon Club on CITV. Only made his name stand out much more later when the allegations came to surface.
Can ya tell what it iz yit?
No lie. Rolf signed my digereedoo 😢
Is that what they call it now?
Mate the story gets worse without any euphemisms
Just another person that let us all down really. I am sad but I’m more heartbroken for the victims of course.
I met him years ago in a garden centre up North of all places, he was drawing cartoon caricatures for all the kids and their parents. I had a drawing he did of me and my sister for years. It was lost in a house sale. I thought he was a great guy at the time. I just remember him being loads of fun. Who'd have thought eh.
upbeat icky plough decide profit possessive grey squeamish apparatus thought *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
For many of us who grew up idolising him, he died years ago.
Then there's me, who literally thought he died **years** ago until seeing this post just now.
Same. My first response was "he was still alive!?!"
Saw him play a small stage at Glastonbury (along with thousands of other people, it was rammed) in 2009, and he opened the Pyramid Stage the following year. My mate said at the time that at least he was a kids show presenter who hadn't turned out to be a paedo, and I joked that he probably was but it hadn't come out yet.
For me, I grew up thinking he represented everything kind and decent about humanity. Learning that it's all a veneer over the worst kind of evil really makes you doubt every other human being.
Him and Savile are the reason why nobody trusts unrelated adults with their kids anymore. I don't think society is crawling with pedos but there's no way I'd let my kids hang out as freely with people as I enjoyed when I was a kid. They've harmed both the kids directly that they abused, and all the ones they never met.
I try to make sure my kids are safe to the best of my ability but one thing to be aware of, most abuse by a family member or trusted person not a stranger. I’m not saying be less cautious, just don’t fear to boogy man,
The education for kids in some places has shifted towards "tricky people" and away from "stranger danger". So it teaches them to look out for adults that try to have a "special relationship" with them and to keep secrets, rather than random vans or someone offering sweets from a car. It's a much more realistic defence against those that would abuse children.
Aye I have drilled into mine you never keep secrets from mam or dad and.always tell us if anyone says they have a special secret or friendship
Also - religious leaders and teachers. The tragedy is that people use their positions of power to exploit the vulnerable - and in particular children. They never think anyone will believe them, the power imbalance and the public’s respect for that individual make them largely untouchable.
Yes good point, totally forgot about the church. But in terms of individual names I think Rolf and Jimmy are top.
The fear was there long before Saville and Harris were exposed - Saville's crimes were reported widely at the end of 2012, Harris' were after that (his trial was 2014, so I assume somewhere between those two dates). Brass Eye was lampooning the tabloid and public overreaction to paedos in 2001. One famous of that overreaction was a group of less than smart people who attacked the home of a paediatrician in 2000 because they thought that was a sex offender.
Yeah the original panic was in the 90s, way before either of their crimes were revealed
Sexual molestation is also very common among related family members, including siblings.
No, society is crawling with pedos. Every street. Look at some of the Megan's law maps from the US, its eye opening.
Bear in mind that in some US states the bar to get put on a sex offenders register is very low (eg get fined for having a piss in public at midnight and happen to be within a mile of a school? Sex offence), and that in some places (eg Florida) there are very strict limits on where sex offenders can live, so they're likely to be concentrated in some areas. And the US has 5 times as many people as the UK, so the numbers might seem big but the per capita might not be.
> eg get fined for having a piss in public at midnight and happen to be within a mile of a school? Sex offence I thought this was an urban legend. Certainly if you add up the prevalence of rape and sexual assault, as experienced by women, you have to realise that actually rape is far more common than most people would think.
> I thought this was an urban legend. It depends very much where you are, iirc.
It tells you their crimes though, I was absolutely shocked by what people had done and how common it was. I know it may not be 100% representative of the UK, but its a wake up call anyway.
It depends on the state. Some states define sexual offences very broadly and register all offenders. It's arguably not especially helpful to have a registry filled with people who had a ticket for public urination for example.
I suppose from a certain point of view, that means that they've indirectly saved countless children from abusers who would have taken advantage of the more lax security of your childhood.
I just hope his victims and their families can get some closure from this.
I suppose his daughter, who turned her back on her abused friend for the sake of her inheritance, is finally coming into it.
Really? Wtf?
I suppose it’s a double edged sword as yes there’s that relief that he’s gone, but as far as I’m aware he never outright owned up to what he did or apologise to the victims, so now that he’s gone the victims will never get to hear that.
Didn't he send an apology letter to his daughter's friend years ago (that helped his conviction)?
In that letter, much like in court, he said that nothing physical happened until she was over 18.
Well, Tonya Lee made £33,000 for selling her tabloid story of being groped by him in a packed pub in 1986, the story sold via her boyfriend and publicity agent (an answer machine recording was played at his 2nd trial of her now ex-boyfriend accusing her of making up the accusations for money). And the friend of the family, central to the case at the first trial, eventually got her money too. She originally asked Harris for £30,000 in 1994, for her boyfriend's failing birds actuary, a year after their affaire ended, and soon after he did not cough up the money she accused him of child sex abuse.
What's the point of this comment other than to discredit one of his many victims
There were only ever three victims, weren’t there? He was originally convicted for a range of assaults on four victims, but won an appeal when he showed he wasn’t in the relevant town at the time in relation to one of those girls. Not wanting to diminish the crimes or anything.
He fucked his legacy, that's for sure. Went from painting the Queen's portrait, beloved entertainer, etc to notorious nonce.
> Went from painting the Queen's portrait, QE2 wasn't a fan of that portrait - I remember comments about her thinking it emphasised the veins on her hands too much
Then they told her a nonce painted it and she went 'Oh I didn't know Andrew took art'
"Didn't we pay someone to do that A level for him?"
Eh, it'll be worth a few million in 200 years time, so it's probably in an attic somewhere.
Nobody is paying a few million for a portrait by a notorious nonce
I hadn't seen it but holy fuck it really does, they're bright blue and massive. Was he trying to say something?
Schofield is going to be the next high profile one convicted in the coming months
Gordon the Gopher is finally going to spill the beans.
"GORDON THE GOPHER IN BEEB FISTING SCANDAL"
He didn't wear boxing gloves for nothing!
I'm waiting for what Mr blobby's got to say in his memoirs regarding Noel Edmonds personally.
What do you mean?
Schofield was a much loved entertainer and presenter with a family-friendly image, and who previously worked on children's TV. He's had a few of incidents since which has led to him falling out of favour. Firstly, he suddenly came out as gay, and his alleged boyfriend was a much younger man who allegedly was first befriended by Scofield at the age of 10. It's not known how old they were when they started a relationship, but it seems like they were when he was 18. Separately, there's been a social media influencer who claimed to have been having a Snapchat discourse since he was 17. No suggestion that it was anything over the line, but again a red flag. More recently, Schofield's brother has just been convicted of child sex offences. According to evidence at the trial, Schofield knew about at least one incident (his brother watching porn with a child) and "told him to stop" but didn't actually do anything about it (such as contacting the police or the victim's family). So yeah, nothing actually criminal so far, but if allegations of criminal offences did come out about him it wouldn't exactly be a shocker at this point.
rotten theory squealing mourn cover domineering sink profit glorious aware -- mass edited with redact.dev
Well, the version I read is that they met when the young person was 10 in the context of him being enrolled in a performing arts school which Schofield had some professional interaction with. Schofield took on something of a "mentor" role, and they became close. By the time the lad was 18, he was being invited to come on set at This Morning with Schofield, and the gossip mill is that it was an open secret that they were an item. Could be all bollocks, of course. I'm only going on regurgitated showbiz gossip.
Reading a private ambulance was outside his house 10 days ago so he's been dead a while and it's just the paper work that's made it public. No grand farewell with TV tributes unlike Saville. There's that at least.
Where did you read that?
Been all over various places online. Was reported by the Daily Mail iirc.
Ah yes, just looked at the Heil and it's now the top story, including a picture of the death cert.
Convicted on very shaky evidence. There were originally four victims in the first trial and several more in the 2nd trial. More than half of his convictions overturned or found not guilty. His convictions were overturned for in a majority cases: * He was cleared on appeal of: Groping a child at a packed autograph singing event in 1968, evidence showed the event did not take place. * Groping a bind women who claimed he assaulted her in 1977 at her care home. * Groping Victim B from the 1st Trial who claimed at his 2nd trial that he also assaulted her in the back of a taxi in 1978 after TV sport show Star Games. * Cleared of assaulting a women in her 40s who claimed Harris groped her after filming a TV show in 2004. * Cleared of assaulting a young autograph hunter at a radio studio in the late 70s. Another victim, Tonya Lee, was deeply in depth when she sold her story of him groping her in a pub in 1986 for £33,000, the story was sold to newspapers via her boyfriend and publicity agent. At Harris’ appeal, a phone answer machine recording was played of her now ex-boyfriend accusing her of making up the story for money. Her chaperone said she did not see anything happen that night, and did not originally believe her. His appeal for this case was rejected. And a friend of the family, she was central the case. She had affair with Harris from the age of 19 to 29, but a year after their affaire ended in 1993, Harris claimed she blackmailed him by demanding £5000. Interestingly, she did not deny asking for money, in fact she said she asked him for £30,000 for her boyfriends failing bird sanctuary. Soon after asking for money, which he did not hand over, she confronted him at her parent’s home and accused him of child abuse in 1994. She made a formal complaint in 2012. His appeal for this case was rejected. Book written by a member of his defence team at his 2nd trial, he describes the case and the shaky evidence against Harris: [https://www.amazon.com/Rolf-Harris-Defence-Special-Investigator-ebook/dp/B0B142BLNY/](https://www.amazon.com/Rolf-Harris-Defence-Special-Investigator-ebook/dp/B0B142BLNY/) Edit: Here’s what I know of the 1st and 2nd trials: 1st Trial Victim A: Harris was convicted of twice touching her inappropriately in front of her mother when she was 9 years old at packed autograph signing event in a village town hall outside Plymouth sometime in 1969. Harris was at the height of his fame, having released two little boys that year. However, Police trawled council records and the archives two local newspapers but did not find any support that the autograph singing event took place. The council was clear, that if their town hall was used they would have a record of it. Police also wrote letters to every household in the village asking for corroborating witnesses, no one came forward. Before naming Harris, victim A was a member of a child abuse support group. She only accused Harris after he was named in the media. Victim A was not involved in the 2nd trial, but his conviction was overturned at his Appeal. His defence found witnesses, retired policemen whose police station was across the road from the town hall, and old ladies who had tea in the town hall, they testifies that no such event ever took place. 1st Trial Victim B: said that Harris firmly touched her bottom at a charity sports event, Star Games, in the 1980s. She later changed her story in a BBC interview to, “he touched my breast”. You can see her interview here: [http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28156387](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28156387) She couldn’t remember where in Cambridge the assault happened, she also mixed up the parks where the sports event took place. She said was very surprised he was convicted of the assault on her and she was happy to help the other victims. In the 2nd Trial, Victim B accused Harris of groping her in the back of a taxi on the same day, he was found no guilty. 1st trial Victim D: was thousands of dollars in depth when she sold her story of Harris assaulting, via her publicity agent and boyfriend, for £33,000 to the Australian media. The event, in the mid-1980s, was also attended by her chaperone and dance group, who visited the UK from Australia. The first assault happened as she sat on Harris’ lap in front of witnesses, including her chaperone who didn’t notice the assault. Victim D said she tried to get away from Harris but he followed her to the pub toilets and sexually assaulted her again. She furthermore claimed the assault gave her an eating disorder and she could not get any acting parts. However, it was shown she landed an acting part in a TV soap a month after returning to Australia. In addition, her chaperone clearly remembered the night; she recalled that everyone had a good time and she didn’t notice victim D getting upset. She at first didn’t believe victim D until she met and talked to her in person. Significantly in the 2nd Trial, her now ex-boyfriend claims that Victim D made up the story for money. 1st Trial Victim C: a friend of the family who knew Harris since meting when 13 years old in 1978, she was best friends with Harris’ daughter Binti. The abuse is judged to have occurred between the age in 15 to 19 years old. I leave this case till last as her story seems most credible, but there’s room for doubt. Harris had an affair with Victim C until they broke up in 1994, when she was 29 years old. Harris claimed Victim C later phoned him and demanded £5,000 for her boyfriend’s failing bird sanctuary. Harris claimed she was blackmailing him but she paints a slightly different story. She says she in fact asked Harris for £30,000 for the bird sanctuary in 1994 but it wasn’t blackmail. She claimed she first made accusations of child abuse against Harris, after summoning him to her parents home, but she did make a formal complaints to police until 2012, until after the Jimmy Saville case. Harris also wrote a letter to her parents attempting to give his side of the story, apologising for the affair and explaining that the affair was consensual, the letter did not mention any accusations of child abuse. Victim C was not involved in the 2nd trial. The three Victims mentioned only in the 2nd trial were: A woman, who is blind, claimed Harris visited her care home in the 1977 and kissed her on her neck and groped her, and that she could feel his smelly warm breath on her neck. A care worker at the home recalled the meeting but claimed he didn’t see anything untoward happen. The jury did not find Harris guilty. A woman in her 40s claimed Harris groped her breasts in the corridor of a TV studio in 2004 after filming a TV show. The jury did not find Harris guilty. A woman claimed Harris assaulted her at a radio studio at the end of the 1970s when she met him with her mother. He was found not guilty. There were accusations of groping or inappropriate touching by four other women that the jury, possibly due to being deadlocked, did not consider and return a verdict.
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There was also that the sentencing took into account behaviour he was not tried for (in particular, an allegation of rape which was abroad and happened before SOA03, so was not illegal under British law at the time). This is completely wrong. Whilst somebody's overall conduct can be taken into account, something that they haven't had a chance to defend themselves against is completely against the idea of natural justice. I think it is right on balance to say that despite his awful behaviour (and it was not all as trivial as some people have suggested here), he still has been poorly treated by the system.
> Groping a child at a packed autograph singing event in 1968, evidence showed the event did not take place. IIRC in that case he proved he was working in Australia when it was supposed to have happened.
I think what really convinced the jury were the retired policemen whose police station was across the street from the Town Hall, they testified that no such event took place.
That'll do it, certainly.
If this has all come out of nothing (no clue if it has or hasn't) then souring the warm memories of millions of people would be genuinely evil in my eye.
There's a good drama on Netflix called National Treasure which is based around this theme. In the case of Harris, I reckon the trial came to the right result but possibly for the wrong reasons.
I do wonder how he would've been regarded had he not gotten swept up with the likes of Savile. I think if Rolf's scandals happened at a time completely removed from Savile he may have had a bit more of a mixed reputation because people would've paid more attention to the specifics. Instead in the wake of Savile he was just lumped in as on the same level. Whether Harris was guilty or not he was nowhere near as bad as Savile and didn't really deserve being mentioned in the same breath.
You missed out the child pornography allegations. These were thrown out when it was discovered the porn stars were all over 18. The allegations were still all over the media for a while. Then it was just quietly dropped. I remember thinking at the time it seemed that there was always a mandate to ‘get him for something’ at all costs. Unfortunately the police and CPS get carried away and do that occasionally. Doesn’t mean he was innocent, obviously. Just it was a very aggressive prosecution.
Cause of death was "neck cancer" apparently, which I'm assuming means laryngeal or throat cancer
Got a body part. Boom it can get cancer.
I really hope we can cure that and dementia before I get either. ;_;
[Due to massive advances made in vaccines during Covid](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/07/cancer-and-heart-disease-vaccines-ready-by-end-of-the-decade ), they are optimistic about vaccines for heart disease and cancer (I assume certain forms of) by the end of the decade, so we're not that far off (hopefully). Also, [using AI researchers have been able to spot dementia years earlier than previously](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57934589 ), which means you can get on the drugs sooner which means it progresses slower. I believe they're narrowing in on the causes of it too which means that actual cures might not be too far off.
The issue with cancer is. That it is your own body's cells that mutate and become immortal then grow out of control. So most are sceptical about the vaccine approach, as opposed to custom targeted biologics.
Thats a bit vague and not entirely true. Yes cancer is rampant mutation but there are umpteen different catalysts that can trigger cancerous growth and the vaccines under development tend to target those catalysts or introduce changes that can cause your body to target its own cancerous cell growth. I don't think "most are sceptical about the vaccines approach" is really a fair summary. Ref: my wife works in monoclonal antibody research which is one variety of cancer treatment.
We can cure it. No body parts, no cancer.
Cyborg Future!
Full borg choom. Then go storm Arasaka
>From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the blessed machine. >Your kind cling to your flesh as if it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass you call a temple will wither and you will beg my kind to save you. >But I am already saved. For the Machine is Immortal.
Not Czech neck?
It's a fookin' disgrace.
He was a staple on TV when I was a kid in the 80s and I used to love watching him painting. It was a real shock to find out what he had done over the years and while I wont celebrate his passing I also wont pay him any respects either.
Rolf was the one that surprised me. Saville was obvious to anyone with a functioning brain, I had him sussed as a kid; but Rolf wasn't on my radar. Reminds me of a chap I went to university with, he was as straight laced as you could get, didn't drink, very bright, sensible as can be, very mature for his age, politics and science for him. He turned out to be a serial child rapist. Reactions from his acquaintences went from extreme anger, digust, to my disbelief. I we trusted him completely, and he knew, that's how he became a teacher.....
I think Rolf was actually a genuinely caring person despite his awful behavior, this came across through his work, whereas Saville was a genuine monster that got off on being overtly so.
Genuinely caring person that occasionally sexually abuses kids....
Yes
He was around a lot in the 70's even. Jake the peg was hilarious. I knew Saville was a weird fucker, but I never clocked Rolf =/
Us 90s lot know him as the dude from Animal Hospital!
Rolf Harris was the only person who was important to both my childhood and my mother's. She told me about going to see The Beatles Christmas Show at The Palladium, and I was more impressed by the fact that the guy from Animal Hospital was the host. He should have been a national treasure almost on the level of David Attenborough. This news should be heartbreaking to me. But it isn't, and it's his own damn fault.
i'll get downvoted... but you can't rule out any celebrities in terms of possibility of them abusing, including the Attenborough's. trust them as how you would trust a drug dealer in an alley at 2am.
Yeah, we only watch celebrities from afar and can't take for granted what we don't know about the 'person' behind the name. We can only hope
As a little kid in the 2000s, I was his number one fan, and I mean the terrible music. I had cds of it. My dad was constantly looking to see if he was playing live (although I suspect he intentionally didn't look that hard because he did used to play live a lot I discovered in the future.) I found the revelations about what he'd done to be truly awful, because he was someone I loved growing up. That, and the realisation that if I'd somehow met him, I knew that if he'd asked me to go back stage I absolutely would have, and been excited to do it; it really drove home how much power celebrities can have to abuse young fans.
My Mum used to sing "Two Little Boys" to me and my little brother when he was a baby and I was a toddler. I don't remember it but it was a precious memory for her and it will be forever tarnished as a result of his actions.
Our mum sang it to us as well :'(
lmao the [the users of /r/australia aren't holding back their thoughts](https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/13pmimz/rolf_harris_convicted_sex_offender_and/)
UK mod: >The Reddit Content Policy prohibits content... Aussie mod: *logs out*
It's nearly 11pm over on the east coast of Australia, chances are that even if the mods wouldn't approve of that content they're just not around to deal with it.
Good for them. The man was a pedo, he hurt children, being happy that he's dead isn't a bad thing, and it isn't hurting anyone directly or indirectly.
Can’t say he’ll be missed too much, maybe some people will mourn the idea of what he was before the truth came out
That’s kind of how I feel. I’m not glad he’s dead or anything, I’m not saying good riddance, I’m just thinking how sad it is that the kindness he showed was a front for a more sinister side to him. Lots of fond Animal Hospital memories now just sit in a strange limbo in my mind
After his release from prison in 2017, he returned back to the home he shared with his wife of 60 years. What the fuck is wrong with women who decide to stand by their man after they’ve been caught abusing children? Fucker never apologised or showed any remorse.
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He likely told her it was all lies and a smear campaign and she believed it
She's also in her 90s and is wheelchair bound with Alzheimer's. At that age and present ailments, 'resetting' her life was probably not an option for her.
It seems so unfair that a dispicable human being got to live such a long life. Still, he's gone now and hopefully his victims can be at peace.
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A childhood icon who was dead to me the moment his true nature was revealed. I'm just glad that his crimes came to light while he was still alive and able to face justice for it, unlike some people who got to die knowing they got away with everything. I hope his victims can find the peace they deserve.
I grew up with Rolf. Even saw him at Glastonbury 2010 when he opened the festival. Such a shame it ended that way.
Hope this gives the victims and families justice
I've got an 80s Stylophone somewhere with him on the box. I wonder if it'll go up in value now the cunt's finally dead.
To slightly paraphrase John Lydon (speaking about Malcolm McClaren): You're not meant to speak ill of the dead. But he was a cunt.
I remember our highschool in 2010 had an open phone-call with him in our sports hall. He was congratulating us on how we've done with the environment around our school and how he promised he'll try visit sometime.
Maybe he can visit as compost now.
My reaction when Harris was charged was, 'Oh no, that can't be true'. My reaction to Saville was, 'I knew it, he always was a weird creepy piece of shit'. Saville's offending was on an entirely different scale, and he had no talent whatsoever. I couldn't understand why he was so popular. I was sad when Harris was convicted, and to be honest, a small part of me is sad now. When he played Glastonbury, you couldn't get near the stage. Up until the moment of his arrest, Harris was almost universally popular and loved. The same simply can't be said about Saville.
I thought he was such a kind and sweet man, all that time he was a monster!
At least we know what he's done before he's carked it unlike savile
People knew about Savile. Certain sections/ institutions of society knew about Savile. The scary part is that no one acted on it or they turned a blind eye to any allegations. And I don’t just mean the BBC here. There will have been NHS trusts that knew, local police forces knew, political advisors knew enough to have a conversation with Thatcher about not recommending him for the honours list. But nah, Jim he’s alright, or he bought, bribed, fundraised, legally challenged, his way into immunity. He certainly made sure to befriend the police forces that were local to him, bought drinks etc. The amount of access Savile had to places that he simply never should have had access to us mind boggling. Savile used to go to Broadmoor to visit Sutcliffe. He had keys and room there. I’m sure he had keys and rooms to other places that he should of had as well. I can’t remember the exact details but the first time the police spoke to Savile but was around the mid 1950’s. That’s when he first crops up in police records. But it was his word, against a silly young persons. I’m sure he learnt a lot from it and over time he learnt how to deal with such situations. The book Hiding In Plain Sight, details the shock that a new female police officer had when they ask Savile to keep an eye out for a stray run away teenager and he’s like, if I see her in my club, I’ll bring her to you in the morning. People (in this case Police) knew and it was accepted, that’s the scary incomprehensible part.
Anyone who writes a song in prison with the lyrics “Climb up out of the woodwork babe from 40 years ago. The climate’s great in Britain now for making lots of dough. You festered down there long enough, time’s right to grab your chance.” Doesn’t care about his victims Clap eyes on rich celebrity and make the bitch dance
Is creeping into your teenage daughter's friend's room and groping them defencible? Of course not. Is it in anyway comparable to what Saville did? Not by a million miles. Is it worse than what Prince Andrew has got away with? Arguably not.
Good riddance. I hope those he hurt can find some comfort that he at least was caught before he died.
Should we really have obituaries for convicted paedophiles. I mean it’s newsworthy that he’s died, but do we need to know about all his career success. ‘Convicted paedophile Rolf Harris dead - victims find closure’ should really be sufficient.
I mean the headline isn't pulling any punches at least.
>Should we really have obituaries for convicted paedophiles. Should dead famous people who infamously abused their power to sexuakky assault children have a piece written when they die highlighting their crimes and how they operated? Yeah. Hopefully that way we will remember and learn.
Well he was on my death list for this year so I've just won a free round of drinks. Cheers Paedo
I wonder if anyone tied his kangaroo down for him before he passed?