Rolf Harris at court in central London. Harris was jailed in July for five years, nine months for sex assaults. Photo / AFP
Rolf Harris at court in central London. Harris was jailed in July for five years, nine months for sex assaults. Photo / AFP
Convicted paedophile Rolf Harris has written a vile song from his prison cell, sickeningly castigating his victims as money-grabbing mercenaries intent on claiming compensation.
Harris, 84, targeted girls as young as seven, but in his lyrics he displays no remorse for his crimes. Instead, he callously describes the victims whose lives he wrecked as "woodworms" who have "climbed up out of the woodwork from 40 years ago".
In his misogynistic rant, he shamelessly sneers at the women he indecently assaulted, saying: "Perhaps you think you're pretty still, some perfumed sultry wench?"
The words are contained in a letter Harris sent from Stafford prison to someone close to him. He was so appalled at its contents that he passed it to The Mail on Sunday.
In the letter Harris insists he will record the song "the moment I get out", arrogantly assuming he will get parole and walk free "towards the end of 2017".
Astonishingly, the former children's entertainer also talks of "the injustice" of his incarceration and of his cushy life behind bars.
His loathsome song prompted Liz Dux, a solicitor from Slater and Gordon, who represents his victims, to call for him to be denied parole, especially as many of his victims have spent years in therapy to cope with the aftermath of his abuse.
"I strongly urge that this man is denied the right to apply for parole," Ms Dux said last night. "And if he is allowed to apply, I sincerely hope this letter is taken into account and he is made to serve his full sentence.
"He put these women through hell during the trial. He has shown them nothing but contempt and arrogance, even in the way he assaulted them. They will be distraught at this disgusting song.
"They came forward because they wanted to see him face justice - it was nothing to do with claiming compensation. They are claiming it because it is the only way they can hold him personally liable.
"Many of them have been deeply affected and need really complex treatment.
"That is not provided by the NHS, so a large part of the claim will go towards that.
"The main victim has never worked because of his abuse of her from an early age. Hers is a life ruined. Yet Rolf Harris still believes fame, power and money are more important than these women's lives."
One of Harris' victims said last night: "I am totally revolted by what he has written. Despite convictions on every count he has shown no remorse and continues to think he can treat his victims like dirt. His arrogance is beyond belief. I am devastated by reading this and it will set back my recovery at a time when I am trying to rebuild my shattered life."
Last night leading criminal justice expert Harry Fletcher, director of the Digital Trust which helps abuse sufferers, said he was outraged that the author of such a vile letter would automatically be eligible for parole halfway through his sentence of five years and nine months.
"It is appalling and outrageous that Harris will walk free in two years and ten months, yet he so obviously feels not a shred of remorse or respect for his victims," he said.
"This is a perfect example of why the conditions of parole should be changed. Someone like Harris should not be eligible when he clearly feels no remorse and shows such contempt for his victims."
The shamed TV star and artist, who once painted the Queen's portrait and was the darling of broadcast executives before his predatory and wanton sexual assaults were revealed, was jailed last July for 12 indecent assaults against four women.
In the letter, written in February, Harris - who was stripped of his CBE by the Queen after his conviction - brags of his easy lifestyle, saying: "Prison is no hardship really. I'm in the art room as an assistant to the tutor and basically I am doing what I like... I'm well accepted in here and there are a load of people, many of whom are friends."
But it is his song that is the most sickening aspect of his correspondence. In rhyming couplets, his sneering lyrics begin: "Climb up out of the woodwork babe, from forty years ago. The climate's great in Britain now for making loads of dough. You've festered down there long enough, time's right to grab your chance. Clap eyes on a rich celebrity and make the bastard dance."
Writing about 20 alleged victims who have come forward since he was convicted and are pursuing compensation, Harris continues: "My guess is they'll slide after you [his original accusers] all following your stench."
He describes the women's quest for justice and for compensation by saying: "Join the feeding frenzy, girls."
And the chorus of the song which is unfinished and as yet untitled, reads: "Make him squirm, slimy little woodworm, make him squirm, squirm, squirm.
"Sink your claws right in to the hilt, don't let him go."
Rolf Harris with his wife Alwen Hughes and daughter Bindi Harris. Photo / Getty Images
In his prison cell Harris has been plotting to fight the compensation claims and protect his £16 million (NZD$35 million) fortune.
His wealth comprises several companies, worth £8.5 million, £2.3 million in cash, and his mortgage-free £5 million home on the Thames in Bray, Berkshire, which he owns with wife Alwen, 82.
Even behind bars he is still making money since iTunes and Spotify are selling the disgraced star's songs.
It is believed he has hired private investigators to delve into the backgrounds of the women who are launching the civil claim against him. Harris's daughter Bindi and niece Jennifer have also hired lawyers in the hope of seeing off the women's claims.
During Harris's trial an email from Bindi to her father was read out in which she referred to inheriting his wealth as being akin to "winning the lottery". She, like her mother, denies his guilt, describing her father as a "kind, sweet, honest man".
Harris was originally sent to Bullingdon prison in Oxfordshire but was transferred to Stafford last October after he complained of being bullied and abused by fellow prisoners. One spat on him in the prison chapel after inmates claimed he was given preferential treatment and easy gardening jobs.
One of Britain's oldest prisons, Stafford is a category C prison with Victorian blocks and is exclusively for sex offenders. It contains 741 inmates who are not considered a security risk but cannot be trusted in an open prison.
All must wear uniforms, even prison-issue underwear and socks. Harris shares a cell in which he has use of a toilet and basin. He is allowed three showers a week.
Discipline is strict and those who break the rules are confined to their cells. As a sex offender, Harris's letters will be read by prison censors to ensure he isn't communicating with any of his victims.
Since he was locked up, Harris's only visitors have been Alwen, Bindi and Jennifer. This is the first letter he has written.
Clearly seething in his cell, he says he is finding it "EXTRAORINARILY [sic] difficult to write from gaol" and admits that after eight months inside "the inner rage has come to the fore. I've started writing a song about the injustice of it all."
After the lyrics he concludes: "There's a lot more of it, but as yet I haven't got a tune. I envisage a country rock sound."
He tells how he passes his time painting. "I did a big square picture of a tiger on the half landing yesterday and today," he writes. "Tomorrow I start an image of a Scottish castle on the wall."
After discussing other animal drawings he moves on to talk of his wife who has stood by him. He writes: "Alwen I'm worried about, as she's very lonely there at home. She rattles around in that big place, virtually alone and she's very fragile."
Harris, however, showed no such compassion for the women he ruthlessly abused. One of his victims was a seven-year-old autograph-hunter and another his daughter Bindi's close friend. Though his prosecution was for the abuse of four women, scores more have come forward with allegations.
His chief victim was targeted when she was just 15. She and her mother met Harris at a promotional event at a shop in Australia in 1991. He groped her after insisting on giving her a hug, and then rubbed himself against her mother's bottom as they had their photograph taken.
When the older woman challenged him, calling Harris "a disgusting creature," he told her: "She liked it," referring to her daughter.
When the sordid details emerged in 1997, Harris wrote to the girl's father begging for forgiveness. But he has since doggedly protested his innocence, insisting she "willingly" took part in a consensual relationship after "seducing" him as an adult.
He tried desperately to wriggle out of trouble by telling her brother: "It takes two to tango."
In court the victim was described by prosecutor Sasha Wass QC as "a damaged and emotionally dead creature", adding: "He used her for his sexual gratification like she was a blow-up doll."
During his trial Harris was deemed a "Jekyll and Hyde" character who used his fame to mesmerise underage fans over an 18-year period from 1968. He began grooming his daughter's best friend when she was just 13, treating her like "a young puppy" after first molesting her on a family holiday in Australia in 1978. He continued to target her on their return to Britain, before 'psychologically dominating her into womanhood', jurors were told at his trial.
She was "dehumanised" during that spell, she told the court, and was transformed from a "carefree child" to "an emotionally scarred adult" which sparked her descent into depression and chronic alcoholism.
When Harris was found guilty he showed neither emotion nor remorse. He announced that he would appeal his sentence but has since decided not to, claiming it would be too difficult for his wife.
Yet he allowed his victims to endure the harrowing court process by insisting he was innocent. During his trial his lawyers portrayed the women as fame-hungry liars. Their stories, however, were remarkably similar, each painting a disturbing picture of a man who used his fame to abuse girls and young women.
