Rolf Harris prosecutor Sasha Wass Queen’s Counsel has history of working on high-profile cases

SHE’S the ice cool lawyer with a photographic memory who has worked with serial killers and billion-dollar fraudsters.

Sasha Wass, a prosecutor in the case against the former UBS AG trader, Kweku Adoboli, arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, U.K., on Friday, Sept. 14, 2012. Adoboli is charged with falsifying records on exchange-traded fund transactions and other documents needed for accounting purposes as early as October 2008, according to his indictment. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images

SHE’S got a photographic memory and an “ice cool” reputation.

For eight weeks prosecutor Sasha Wass Queen’s Counsel (QC) relentlessly watched and examined Rolf Harris in a London court, describing him as a “sinister pervert who had a demon lurking beneath the charming exterior”.

Last night, the once beloved Australian entertainer was found guilty of 12 counts of indecently assaulting four girls. It’s just one of many high-profile cases in a stellar career for Wass, a Queen’s Counsel since 2000 who has worked on some of the world’s most disturbing trials, from serial killers to billion-dollar banking fraud.

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Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris leaves Court after being found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault.

The University of Liverpool graduate has 32 years experience at the criminal bar after starting out as an assistant recorder in 1997. She’s renowned for her relentless cross-examination and skill in handling young witnesses, once described as “clever and ice cool” by The Times.

“Her forte is the simplification of complex issues to enable clear and simple presentation to juries,” Legal 500 reports.

Wass has been engaged in cases involving mercy killings as well as juvenile witnesses and defendants, including rape, child abuse and internet sex. Notable prosecutions involve two delinquent teenagers who raped and murdered a young mother as well as the gang-related murder of a 15-year-old boy, her official biography reports.

She also served as the defence lawyer for Rosemary West, a serial killer convicted of murdering 10 victims including two daughters along with her husband Fred, in a place known as Gloucester’s House of Horrors.

British serial murderers Fred and Rosemary West.

As QC she has also defended parents in cases involving challenging medical evidence, such as a father accused of shaking his 38-day-old baby to death, and a mother accused of poisoning her child.

Wass was also involved in Operation Brandfield, which resulted in the successful prosecution of customs and excise officers after receiving drugs imported from Pakistan. She’s even done private defence work for celebrity clients and covered environmental crime involving the importation of rhinoceros horn, according to Legal 500.

In recent years she has turned to money laundering and fraud, including the prosecution of rogue trader Kweku Adoboli known as the ‘London Whale’ for his $2.3 billion fraud while working at banking giant UBS. She also prosecuted ex-Nigerian State Governor James Ibori who was sentenced to 13 years in jail for fraud totalling more than $70 million.

UBS equities trader Kweku Adoboli faced trial for a $2 billion fraud at banking giant UBS.

Originally published as Rolf Harris prosecutor Sasha Wass Queen’s Counsel has history of working on high-profile cases