Girl drew me into affair only when she was 18, says Harris

As you can imagine it was a very flattering feeling that this young lady should suddenly be showing an interest in me.’’ Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris told a court yesterday that he was drawn into an affair with a ‘‘flirtatious and coquettish’’ 18-year-old girl, but denied molesting her from the age of 13.

Harris, 84, said he was flattered when the teenager, a childhood friend of his daughter, Bindi, began to show an interest in him and described how a ‘‘sexual chemistry’’ developed.

He told Southwark Crown Court she was a willing participant in sexual encounters, which she often instigated, but only after she had become an adult and when he was 53.

Harris said he was later sickened by his behaviour because of the effect on the woman – the main alleged victim in his child abuse trial – and the betrayal of his wife.

The veteran entertainer’s first day of evidence also involved his admission of a second extramarital affair with a woman in her mid-30s, which he said devastated his wife, Alwen.

Harris, who moved to Britain from Australia in 1952, denies 12 counts of indecent assault against four women between 1968 and 1986. The court has also heard evidence from other women who claim they were assaulted by him abroad.

His daughter’s friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, alleges that the entertainer indecently assaulted her on several occasions in the UK, Hawaii and Australia during her early teens. Yesterday, Harris denied any wrongdoing and described allegations that he assaulted her at his home in Bray, Berkshire, while Bindi slept nearby, as ‘‘ludicrous’’.

Harris said he had hugged her as a child but it was because he was a ‘‘touchy-feely person’’ and it did not have any sexual connotation.

It was only when she had turned 18 that the relationship changed in a ‘‘slow process’’.

He took a cup of tea to her in bed when she was visiting and she pulled his elbow, indicating he should sit on the bed.

She then kicked off the duvet to expose her bare leg, he said.

Harris said: ‘‘It seemed to me that she was being very flirtatious. As you can imagine it was a very flattering feeling that this young lady should suddenly be showing an interest in me.’’

He said his heart was ‘‘thumping away like mad’’ and he touched her leg before leaving.

He told the court it was embarrassing to talk about as he ‘‘shouldn’t have been doing it’’ because he was married.

The woman was ‘‘coquettish’’ when she next visited, he said.

He took tea to her bedroom again and a sexual encounter ensued. Asked if she was a willing participant, he replied: ‘‘Yes, she was, definitely. She seemed to be enjoying it.’’

After the affair concluded, she was said to have left a voicemail saying: ‘‘If you don’t call me back you’ll be sorry’’; asked for £25,000 for an animal sanctuary and accused him of molesting her.

The jury has been told that Harris wrote to her father, asking for forgiveness. He told the court: ‘‘I knew it was wrong.’’