Rolf Harris sued by woman who claims he molested her at a camp in 1982

Rolf Harris, 92, is sued by woman who claims he molested her at an Australian adventure camp in 1982 when she was ten, leaving her with ‘permanent psychiatric harm’

• Woman claims Harris molested her while she was at holiday camp in Melbourne
• She claims she was sexually assaulted by Harris when she was aged ten  

Rolf Harris is being sued by an alleged victim who claims the disgraced paedophile sexually assaulted her at an Australian adventure camp when she was ten years old. 

The alleged victim claimed Harris, 92, molested her while she was at a school holiday camp in Melbourne in 1982. 

Harris, who has neck cancer, was convicted of 12 indecent assaults against four underage girls at Southwark Crown Court in June 2014, and was sentenced to six years behind bars. He was later released from prison in 2017.

Now, another woman has claimed she was sexually assaulted by the disgraced children’s entertainer when she was aged 10 and in foster care. 

The woman, who remains anonymous, said the alleged abuse she endured has left her with ‘permanent psychiatric harm’, reports The Age. 

Rolf Harris (left in 2020, right in 1973) is being sued by an alleged victim who claims the disgraced paedophile sexually assaulted her at an Australian adventure camp when she was ten years old

She claims she was sexually assaulted by Harris when she visited Camp Manyung in Mount Eliza, south of Melbourne, in 1982. The disgraced children’s entertainer is said to have been performing at the camp at the time.

The alleged victim claimed that one of Harris’ performance, she and other children were introduced to the disgraced celebrity. The claimant, who was 10 at the time, claimed that she had given Harris a card and he had sat next to her.

The woman said she had spilt wax on her dress and was trying to pick it off when Harris offered to help.

‘That’s when he said he could help me get the wax off,’ the woman said in her claim, which has been seen by the Herald Sun. ‘It started off helpful.’ 

But the exchange quickly became sinister, the woman claims. 

She alleges Harris dragged her onto his lap and moved his hands up her leg and under her skirt before he sexually assaulted her. 

‘I remember feeling petrified, terrified and panicked,’ she said. 

The alleged victim claimed she tried to call and scream before she ran away from Harris. 

The woman claims she told a staff member about the abuse but Harris called her a ‘lying brat’. Harris then allegedly left the holiday camp.

Rolf Harris arrives with his wife Alwen Hughes (second right) and daughter Bindi (L) at Southwark Crown Court in central London on June 30, 2014

The claimant is also suing the State of Victoria and OzChild regarding a string of separate allegations of abuse while under their care as a foster child.

The woman’s principle lawyer, John Rule of legal firm Maurice Blackburn, said his client is claiming damages for battery against Harris, adding that the alleged assault caused her permanent psychiatric harm. 

‘Her allegations have always been entirely consistent since I first spoke to her two years ago and through our investigations we’ve been able to corroborate Harris was in Australia at the same time and in Victoria… he performed at the VFL grand final,’ Rule told The Age.

‘He has been convicted in the UK of abusing other young girls and in quite similar circumstances [to my client],’ Rule said, adding that a trial date is expected to be set for early 2024. 

He added: ‘We know this is a pattern of behaviour. It’s a real arrogance in his offending.’

Harris was was convicted of 12 indecent assaults against four underage girls in London in 2014 and was sentenced to six years in prison. 

However, he was released from HMP Stafford on parole in May 2017 after serving just three years of his sentence.

Harris’ assaults include one on an eight-year-old autograph hunter and two against girls in their early teens, as well as a catalogue of abuse against his daughter’s friend of over 16 years. 

Some of the offences had been carried out while his daughter was in the same room. He admitted having a relationship with the woman, but said it only started when she reached 18.

Since his release from prison, Harris has lived a reclusive life in the English village of Bray in Berkshire with his wife of 64 years Alwen Hughes, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Last year, it emerged that Harris can no longer talk or eat and requires constant care after being diagnosed with neck cancer.

Harris married his sculptor wife Alwen in March 1958 after meeting at art school. The couple have one daughter Bindi.

Best known for hits Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport and Jake The Peg, Harris also famously painted the 80th birthday portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

He was the face of British Paints for more than three decades before he was dumped by the brand when he was arrested in 2013.

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