[Closed] Please, no, not Rolf Harris?

puts a totally new slant on "can you tell what it is yet?"

Was it two little boys?

Im jake the peg, diddleiddle-um, with the extra leg didliddle-um....

As that article points out, it's been all over the social media sites for the past 3 weeks or so

All the famous peeps from my childhood seem to be sex pests of varying degrees. Please not John Noakes.

Get down Shep!

I'd have thought he was more into marsupial bondage, sport.

Jeebus.
At least we should be safe with fingerbob and nosey bonk.

Umm, is anybody thinking it was the horse that made the complaint?

As that article points out, it's been all over the social media sites for the past 3 weeks or so

All the article points out is that he's been named; there's no timescale mentioned, and the quote from Brand would suggest that it's after the news got out.

Shame. I hope it's a mis-hit, he always seemed like one of the good guys.

Umm, is anybody thinking it was the horse that made the complaint?

Yeah, juxtaposed with the headline, I laughed.

timmy mallet let his giant hammer flop onto my head when i was a young boy.

When will someone realise that Bruce Forsyth drinks the blood of virgins to stay alive?

He told me that I'd be big down under 🙁

He's not even been charged with anything. Please don't make opinion about someone until it has been proved they did it.

Rachel

I heard about this months ago

he always seemed like one of the good guys.

No he didn't, he was the main act at the end of university ball one year (back in 1992 or so), I remember on the girls who was helping out running the event complaining that he was a real creep...

Rolf Harris CANNOT be guilty, the whole fabric of society would fall apart

One 'alleged' female victim? If you can get through life without being a celebrity and not causing one female to feel she is a victim you'll be doing well.

An 83 yr old guy, after all this time, who is conducting this enquiry? [url= http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/4885876/How-can-they-let-G4S-loose-on-child-sex-cases.html ]G4S[/url]

This hit the news before Christmas - apparently, he was admitted to the priory around the same time as the initial allegations. Sad, but in light of the saville affair, etc, not that much of a surprise.

He once painted the queen for 4 months! He milked that one. I reckon I could gloss her head to toe in a couple of hours.

What I don't get is that, assuming the alleged offence took place many years ago (oike many of these seem to have), isn't just a case of one person's word against another's? And also, how is someone supposed to have a detailed (or, indeed, any) memory of what may or may not happened, and therefore mount a reasonable defence?

A (fictional!) example:

Copper - Mr Harris, this lady says you put your hand up her skirt in the dressing room of the Blackpool Working Men's Club in December 1973

Rolf Harris - I didn't do that

Copper - Well, what happened then?

Rolf Harris - I've no idea, it was 40 years ago, I couldn't even tell you if I was at the Blackpool Working Men's club in 1973. I do know I've never put my hand up a woman's skirt who didn't want me to.

G4S a tabloid non-story. They are providing civilian investigators, so thank Winsor Report and current government for the cuts that make that necessary. The criteria for recruitment into the role mean only retired detectives with relevant experience are getting employed. Oh the ironing.

Harris was named on the net months ago, all sorts of conspiracy theories as to why he wasn't named when so many others were.

What a shame, hope it's not true, Rolf Harris is awesome.

No he didn't, he was the main act at the end of university ball one year (back in 1992 or so), I remember on the girls who was helping out running the event complaining that he was a real creep...

Thats enough for me - BURN HIM!!!

P.S God I hate the tabloids. Talk about reporting what didn't happen. Police "raided" his house, no they didn't, they popped around and he wasn't there. He wasn't arrested, he went into talk to them about the supposed allegation.

Tossers.

Fingers crossed it is because he pinched a girls bum in the 60s while on lsd.
The radio won't be the same without 2 little boys.

As I said above, this is not exactly breaking news. Yes it's sad, but you can't pick and choose who you want to be guilty or innocent. Wait and see what happens - have the media or police released details about what he's actually supposed to have done?

One of the problems is that given the shadow of the Jimmy Saville investigation there is almost an assumption that anyone accused of sexual offences is part of the same circle of lovey-nonces .Some like Dave Lee Travis are accused of relatively minor sexual intrusions against adult females at social gatherings. I'm not minimising but I think we need to know what each one is accused of and deal with on it's merits before chop their billabongs off

I wonder if anyone is going to mention Barry Sheene?

He was notorious for "satisfying" his groupies, and odds on an underage one will have slipped in there. (I'm not saying he was actively seeking young ones).

I suspect it was the same for Rolf Harris and many other celebrities of that period. It wasn't called the sexual revolution for nothing.

I'm not minimising but I think we need to know what each one is accused of and deal with on it's merits before chop their billabongs off

How very tedious. Can't we just draw celebrity names from a hat, draw a random criminal act from another hat, put the two together and then burn the 'lucky' celebrity at the stake. After all that we can then thoroughly investigate the allegation and charge the hat with making it all up if necessary.

What was I thinking of ?

[i]the queen for 4 months! He milked that one.[/i]

While immensely distasteful, I'm sure this isn't actually illegal.

epicyclo - Member
I wonder if anyone is going to mention Barry Sheene?

He was notorious for "satisfying" his groupies, and odds on an underage one will have slipped in there. (I'm not saying he was actively seeking young ones).

I suspect it was the same for Rolf Harris and many other celebrities of that period. It wasn't called the sexual revolution for nothing.

Exactly and what about Mick Jagger & the Stones, purl ease don't try and tell me everyone of their 'conquests' was of legal age, not to mention the pre-pubescent girl on the cover of that album..

Different times, different values, back then they didn't even mind men and their sons spending a life digging horrible black stuff out of the ground until that kind lady thatcher came along and stopped it all..

He signed my copy of the Rolf Harris Songbook with one of his cartoons, I'll have to scan it and post it up. I could also tell you my wife's experience of the signing but the mods would delete it and send me a your a naughty boy e-mail you can't go saying things like that.

The line "Do you know what it is yet?" will never be the same.

In these cases we should also be mindful of whether the accusations concern:

A: children (biological definition: a boy or girl between birth and physical maturity.). According to the NHS physical maturity is reached on average between 12 and 18 for girls, 15 to 20 for boys.

or

B: physically mature people under the age of consent in the UK.

Whole different matter. A would make the accused a paedophile. B would merely indicate a lack of respect for the law.

Interesting to note that people may still be paedophiles by definition for fancying boys over the age of consent.

Of course all of this is way too complicated for those of the 'burn 'em' or 'hang 'em high' mentality. Can't have mere pesky facts ruining a good lynching.

It seems I've made a false accusation about the stones and their album cover, my apologies, it did happen and during that period may have raised eyebrows, but nowhere near the moral hysteria we get today.

Google Blind Faith but don't if you have sensibilities concerning pre pubescent girls holding phallic symbols, a bit off topic, but Rolf Harris goes back this far, lived and performed during this era and certainly wasn't regarded back then as the sort of scuzzy type that would act that way.

A lot of the alleged crimes do seem to be from years and years ago. It does strike me that maybe what many people felt was acceptable then, is no longer felt to be acceptable - so society's changing values is something to bear in mind.
+ if they were drunk/on drugs and underage groupies were throwing themselves at them, I'm not sure this is the same as proactively and deliberately targeting vulnerable children.

The story in Crossfire Hurricane about rivers of girls' urine streaming down the aisles shows you how more restrained things are now...

Different times, different values, back then they didn't even mind men and their sons spending a life digging horrible black stuff out of the ground until that kind lady thatcher came along and stopped it all.

This some kind of new variant on Godwin's Law?

No suprise, he make half a career out of heavy rhythmic breathing

I always thought that 'Tie me kangaroo down' had a slightly suspicious air...

atlaz - Member

This some kind of new variant on Godwin's Law?

We could call it Goodmans Law.. 😉

"I grew up in the belief that sex
was dirty. It was spoken of only
behind the boy's lavatory at school
or written with chalk on a wall.

"I can remember getting a hiding
from my mother when I was about
four for doing a super drawing
of a man with no clothes on -
he was standing there absolutely
naked and urinating - and my
mother didn't like it.

"When I was ten or 11 my mother
decided I should see her naked
to let me know it was all natural
and everything - and we had baths
together. But it was too late by
then. It just used to embarrass me.

"Then my mum brought me a book about
what any young boy should know and
she stayed in the room while I tried
to read it, but I was just too
embarrassed and couldn't wait
to get out of that room."

- Rolf Harris, TV Times, c1974

G4S a tabloid non-story. They are providing civilian investigators, so thank Winsor Report and current government for the cuts that make that necessary. The criteria for recruitment into the role mean only retired detectives with relevant experience are getting employed. Oh the ironing.

Not ironic at all (in the definitive sense of the word, it's not an unexpected event).

Experienced person quits, and becomes a consultant. The original compnay benefits by being able to call on that experience on a day (or hourly, weekly, monthly) rate, without the costs of having to pay them 48 weeks a year, or provide a pension, HR, notice periods, or if they work from home/other office, a desk/phone/cleaner/PC, ICT suppourt etc. The consultant benefits by getting more money (but has to cover their own overheads), gets to chose who he works for and what projects, and gets as much (unpaid) holliday as they like.

@alexandersupertramp

assume its where you copied and pasted it from, but the layout of that had me trying to read it like a poem... which got really weird really quickly. 😯

Rolf Harris had groupies?

ROLF HARRIS?

ROFL.

Rolf Harris had a no 1 and was on top of the pops.

I expect everyone who had a No 1 hit in the seventies had groupies.

Even that bird thing..

edit.. Definitely another candidate for yew tree this one, somebody want to ring G4S

Well there is clear evidence had his hand up a bird !

Trimix - Member
Well there is clear evidence had his hand up a bird !

Re Keith Harris. I would put money on it.

My Mrs was propositioned by him at 16.

Re Keith Harris. I would put money on it.

My Mrs was propositioned by him at 16.

Soooooo legal then? Morally, it is a different matter.

I'm gonna wait and see if Rolf is charged and convicted before I get my knickers in a twist.

It does strike me that maybe what many people felt was acceptable then, is no longer felt to be acceptable - so society's changing values is something to bear in mind.

Bo Derek frequently shagged me when I was 14, although I may have imagined the whole thing every time she did it. Hmmmmmm Bo Derek. 8)

G4S are a private company the more they expand the investigation the more "suspects" they identify/create the more money they make.

Just a thought.

I propose a new (ish) board game, Guess Who, The Sex Offence Edition. Consisting entirely of Children's TV presenters from the 70's and 80's. You would need to use the exact same type of deductive reasoning employed on social media sites.

Pick a face......guilty!

It can't fail. Who wants to fund it? Anyone?

A very good friend of mine gf worked for the BBC as a co producer of a show featuring RH she was warned by her bosses that he was very touchy feely with young women she kept him at arms length! 😕

Now you mention it,my friends ex girlfriend said she didn't like watching him on telly as he gave her the creeps.
You can call CSI off that's all the evidence we need.

Just about every man aged 65 and above must be looking over his shoulder these days wondering how long it will be before some past indiscretion comes out of the woodwork.

[i]*thinks*[/i] hmmm.... tall blonde Gillian who I groped in the school locker room when I was 15 might just fancy her chances at getting some cash out of me.... better stay here in lagos and not come home.

I remember being 15 and going to a party thrown by my Dad's research assistants (i.e. young post grads). As a 15 year old I was hugely flattered to be asked by a nice-looking man 'which university did you go to?'. The responsible adults in the room pounced on the bloke in question and ensured that he didn't get into trouble - and neither did I.

The difference between normal people and all the cases coming out of the woodwork - as I see it - is that there weren't enough responsible adults saying 'no, you can't do that' to the media idols and letting the culture slide into tacit acceptance and blind eyes being turned so that it seemed like a perk of the job.

At 15, wondering about the adult world and nearly getting into quite a few scrapes, I was lucky that men didn't take advantage and there were people looking out for me. Things could have turned out badly but I'm glad they didn't. It's better not to have your faith in humanity smashed at an early age.

Oh, and Rolf Harris and Jimmy Savile both made my skin crawl. For what it's worth. I just didn't watch their programmes!

I'm trying to decide where the line in the sand is. I'm pretty sure that if Glen Michael turns out to have been a paedophile, that'll be the point at which I say **** it, I don't care. But maybe it'll kick in earlier.

FWIW, the most contact I've had with 14 and 15 year olds (apart from when I was at school) was from behind the bar of Bangor University's Student Union, by which point they'd already got past two points of apparently having their ID checked.

No, it's not quite justification, but if the cases in question involved gigs where the artist would rightly have expected anyone there to be over the age of consent (i.e. over 18 and allowed to buy booze), would he really be expected to ask for them to verify their age? Is that a realistic expectation? Or is it realistic, just as I was told by the bar manager, that anyone who had got in had been verified as over 18 and therefore OK to serve alcohol to (or shag...).

G4S are a private company the more they expand the investigation the more "suspects" they identify/create the more money they make.

Just a thought.

"Just a thought".