YOU NEED TO GO
Head orders Harris to leave the grounds Parents disgusted he was near their kids
A HEAD teacher said yesterday he shook the hand of convicted paedophile Rolf Harris before ordering him off the grounds of his primary school.
Disgraced TV entertainer Harris was spotted by a passer-by chatting to a sculptor while waving and smiling at children through a window.
School head Richard Jarrett said it was the first time Harris, who lives a short walk away, had entered the school gates.
But parents were outraged that the 88-year-old sex offender had got anywhere near their kids. Mr Jarrett, head of Oldfield Primary School in Maidenhead, Berks, said: “We have got a pick-up and drop-off point at the school, which is 20 metres from a main road, and we have got two forms of security.
“We’ve got a wood sculptor working close to the road at the moment and Rolf Harris lives about three doors down from the school. He must have seen him [the sculptor] and come into the school area. He had no access to the children whatsoever. “I went over and shook his hand and introduced myself. He explained what he was doing – that he was getting some wood from the sculptor. I said, ‘You need to go’.” Asked if he was concerned Harris was seen waving at the children, he said: “I was not there at the time to stop him waving at the children.” Mr Jarrett, who has an MBE for services to education, said he had reported Harris to the police. He added: “I have just got off the phone with the
police because I think it’s something they should know about.”
Former Animal Hospital star Harris was sentenced in June 2014 to five years and nine months in prison for 12 indecent assaults on four teenage girls between 1968 and 1986.
He was released on licence in May 2017. That sentence will be served as of March next year.
Harris is understood to be on the sex offender register but it is not known if entering the school is a breach of his licence.
The Ministry of Justice said: “When sex offenders are released they are subject to strict licence conditions and are liable to be returned to custody for breaching them. We are looking into these reports and will take appropriate action.”
Thames Valley Police confirmed: “Thames Valley Police was called to Oldfield Primary School on Bray Road, Maidenhead, at around 3.15pm today.
“A report was made that a man was on the site of the school. An officer attended the scene but no offence was committed. No arrests were made.”
A shocked passer-by had spotted Harris in the school grounds at about noon and took photographs.
The local businessman said: “I could not believe what I was seeing. A convicted paedophile should not be in the grounds of a primary school.
“He was waving at the children through the window. I think they were on lunch or maybe in class.
“They were waving back at him and clearly had no idea who he was.”
Parents were also furious. One mum of two said: “For him to just be able to freely walk in is not a good thing. If you’re a paedophile you can’t be going near a school, I’m disgusted.”
Mum of two Claire Lewis, 38, added: “He shouldn’t be even close enough to be on school grounds.
“He shouldn’t be able to cross the road. I am so shocked about this.”
Grandad John Thirkell, 69, said: “Why would he want to be waving at kids? He’s already given himself a terrible name.
“I think the head teacher did the right thing telling him to go and if he’s got any sense he won’t come back.”
The Daily Mirror approached Harris for comment at his home in Bray, Maidenhead, yesterday. A woman who answered the door claimed to have no knowledge of the incident. She said Harris was not at home.
When artist Harris was jailed in 2014, judge Mr Justice Sweeney said the entertainer had taken advantage of his celebrity status and had shown “no remorse” for his crimes. One victim, a friend of his daughter Bindi, was first assaulted by Harris, aged 13, on a family holiday in 1978. She was abused by the entertainer for years and eventually came forward while aged in her 40s in 2012. In 2016, while still in prison, Harris was charged with a string of fresh indecent assault charges relating to teenage girls at public events dating from the 1970s to the 1980s.
A trial in 2017 cleared him of three counts and the jury was discharged for the rest. He was later retried for three offences and one new charge but was acquitted after the jury could not reach a verdict. Richard Scorer, abuse lawyer from Slater and Gordon – the firm which represented a number of victims – said: “If these allegations are true it is very concerning that a convicted sex offender has entered school grounds.
“What happened needs to be investigated fully and, if necessary, action taken. The public and, most importantly, children deserve to be properly protected.”
Meanwhile, it has emerged a firm set up by Harris has amassed nearly £4million. Accounts show the value of RHE Investments’ holdings jumped by nearly £270,000 to £3.9million in the year to June. It is believed the business invests in stocks and shares.
Harris set it up in January 2012, a year before his arrest. He stepped down as a director in September 2015.
But his wife of 60 years, Alwen, is still listed as the company secretary.