Rolf Harris' alleged victim says he 'assaulted her three times in 35 minutes'
One of Rolf Harris’ alleged victims has claimed the disgraced entertainer left her “shattered” after assaulting her three times within 35 minutes when she was 16 years old.
BBC radio presenter Karen Gardner was a teenage bag carrier on TV show Star Games in 1977 when she claims Harris inappropriately touched her. At the time he was 48 years old. Her evidence formed part of the prosecution case in his 2014 trial, but jurors didn’t reach a majority verdict on that count.
Now, in her early 60s, she has waived her right to anonymity to speak out in the documentary Rolf Harris: Hiding In Plain Sight, which is currently showing on ITV X, in a bid to help other victims of the convicted paedophile, who died in May aged 93.
Sharing how Harris went from a childhood favourite of her's to becoming someone who would haunt her for the rest of her life, Ms Gardner said: “In the moments after he assaulted me – which he did three times – it dawned on me that the people around us were not seeing what I was seeing.
“He hurled aside any question of consent. He’d shattered a very young woman’s burgeoning sense of autonomy over her own body. I’d watched him on TV for many hours, learnt the words to his songs, asked for his stylophone for Christmas. It would never have occurred to me, or any other young woman, not to trust him.”
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Disgraced TV star Rolf Harris served three years in prison for his crimes, but died at home aged 93 (AFP/Getty Images)She said she originally avoided coming forward because she didn’t think her experience was as bad as other victims and she was older when she was assaulted at 16. Revealing how it had impacted her, Ms Gardner said the assaults had happened “in plain sight” and added: “It has all these implications all the way down your life because the man is always there.”
Harris was found guilty of 12 counts of indecently assaulting four girls in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in 2014 and sentenced to five years and nine months behind bars. One of the victims was an eight-year-old autograph hunter, two girls were in their early teens and another was his daughter’s friend, who he abused from the age of 13 to when she was 28.
In a statement read out in court, the former friend of his daughter Bindi said: ”The attacks that happened have made me feel dirty, grubby and disgusting. The whole sordid saga has traumatised me.”
Alleged victim Karen Gardner claims Rolf Harris assaulted her three times in 35 minutes (ITV)She said the effects of Harris' abuse had been with her for many years and caused a drinking habit she developed at an early age. She wrote: ”As a young girl I had aspirations to have a career, settle down and have a family. However, as a direct result of his actions, this has never materialised.
”The knowledge of what he had done to me haunted me. However, his popularity with the British public made it harder for me to deal with.” The statement went on: ”Rolf Harris had a hold over me that made me a quivering wreck”, adding: ”He made me feel like a sexual object, he used and abused me to such a degree that it made me feel worthless.”
The shocking court case, which spanned two trials, and subsequent documentary led to more victims coming forward to claim Harris had assaulted them. In 2017, one of his convictions was overturned on appeal, but 11 convictions remained and ended his once glittering career.
Harris was released from prison on licence after serving three years of his sentence and returned to live in his multi-million pound mansion in Bray, Berkshire with his wife Alwen, who supported him throughout his trial. A virtual recluse, he died on May 10, 2023 at the age of 93 following years of ill health, including diabetes. His death certificate stated his cause of death was neck cancer and 'frailty of old age'.
*Rolf Harris: Hiding In Plain Sight is available to watch on ITVX now
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