Charges against him

A British jury unanimously reached a guilty verdict against Harris yesterday, charging him with 12 counts of indecent assault against four different girls, one as young as seven or eight.

• Rolf Harris found guilty of indecent assault
• How Rolf Harris has fallen, and fallen far

Harris was found guilty of indecently assaulting the four girls in the UK between 1968 and 1986, with one of the main complainants a childhood friend of his daughter, Bindi.

The jury found that Harris assaulted a seven or eight-year-old girl who had wanted the entertainer’s autograph, groping her between the legs. Another 15 women have come forward with claims of being assaulted by him.

Justice Nigel Sweeney has told the court that Harris can expect a prison term.

Sentencing

Each of the 12 charges against Harris carries a maximum of 2 years in jail, with the star potentially facing 24 years in prison.

But 84-year-old Harris’s elderly age must be taken into account by the court when he is sentenced.

According to a Fairfax report, Justice Sweeney said a prison term was “uppermost in the court’s mind”, but he would hear evidence of Harris’s health before sentencing.

Operation Yewtree

It has been revealed that Harris’s charges were part of a large operation by detectives from the high-profile British sex crime investigation Operation Yewtree.

Former popstar Gary Glitter is also before the court after being investigated by Operation Yewtree. British celebrity publicist Max Clifford was also sentenced to jail for a string of sexual assaults.

• Harris now Yewtree’s biggest scalp

Harris is the second person to be charged under the inquiry which was set up in the wake of abuse claims against late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile.

Police were contacted by one of Harris’s victims in November 2012 after she heard about the Savile allegations and gained the confidence to come forward.

Will he lose honours?

The highly decorated entertainer has a long list of honours including being an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

• Harris career ends in disgrace

In the light of his guilty verdict, it looks likely that Harris will lose many of his honours and awards.

It has been confirmed that Harris will be stripped of the BAFTA Fellowship that he was awarded just two years ago and could lose his CBE from the Queen.

Harris’s daughter

Harris’s daughter Bindi has been an unlikely figure during the trial, standing by her father in court despite allegations he assaulted a childhood friend of hers.

A report by News.com.au alleges that 50-year-old Bindi Nicholls supported her father because of a monthly allowance Harris pays her and because she wanted to secure her inheritance.

• Bindi Harris ‘shocked’ by sex abuse claims

A private email between Nicholls and Harris was revealed by the prosecution during the trial, with Nicholls questioning her father about whether or not she stood to inherit his $19 million estate.

Tony Abbott’s reaction

Speaking on ABC radio this morning, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was “gutted and dismayed” by Harris’s guilty verdict.

“I feel gutted and dismayed but it’s very important that we do everything we humanly can to protect vulnerable young people,” Abbott told ABC radio.

“It’s just sad and tragic that this person who was admired seems to have been a perpetrator,” he said.