Rolf Harris trial: Entertainer ‘ran away from giggling young girls,’ court told

Rolf Harris is accused of 12 counts of indecent assault on four women between 1968 and 1986, all of which he denies (Reuters)

The entertainer Rolf Harris, 84, complimented Joanne Charles, his daughter Bindi’s friend, on her “lovely curves” when she was a teenager but not in a “lurid way”, she told Southwark Crown Court.

She said Mr Harris, who denies 12 counts of indecent assault from 1968 to 1986, would “run away from giggling teenage girls”. He is accused of 12 counts of indecent assault on four women between 1968 and 1986, all of which he denies.

Ms Charles told the jury that when Mr Harris gave her one of his bear hugs it was like her father embracing her, and that he would shy away from his daughter’s friends.

“When we were all together, I think we were too loud and too giggly and Rolf used to run away from the noise. I think he thought we were all a bit too giggly, silly,” she told the court.

The witness said his embraces were paternal rather than sexual. “Because I had known him for so long, it was just like having my father put his arms around me and cuddle me,” she said.

Mr Harris is accused of having molested another of his daughter’s friends from the age of 13, but Ms Charles said he had not shown any interest in the girl, whom she described as “bland”.

The trial continues.