Hit to fortune as Rolf Harris’s bills mount

CONVICTED child sex offender Rolf Harris faces a hefty bill to repay the costs of his legal trial, which will put a dent in his $18m fortune.

CONVICTED child sex offender Rolf Harris faces a hefty bill to repay the costs of his legal trial, which will put a dent in the $18 million fortune he has accumulated over six decades of work.

The 84-year-old Harris will be asked to contribute to the costs of the prosecution case against him, which is expected to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The legal bill is expected to continue to grow as Slater & Gordon’s British office said “up to a dozen” people had come forward with fresh allegations about Harris to inquire about their legal options and the firm planned to launch civil claims for compensation within weeks.

However, in Britain, some of Harris’s wealth is held in a series of companies and family trusts, which could thwart efforts to obtain payouts. The value of Harris’s assets may also decline given the rapid drop in the value of his artworks since his convictions this week.

Slater & Gordon Melbourne-based lawyer Barrie Woollacott said the fresh claims were being investigated. He said claimants should not delay coming forward due to time limits surrounding civil litigation and the likelihood the disgraced entertainer would seek to protect his sizeable fortune.

“In order to ensure that that wealth remains available for the victims rather than being locked up in trusts or transferred, it’s important proceedings commence quickly so a freeze on those assets can be ordered by the court,” Mr Woollacott said.

It is practice in England for the Crown to have convicted defendants pay a “significant contribution’’ towards prosecution legal costs.

Harris would have looked at the long-running phone-hacking trial with some financial trepidation: in that case the prosecution has sought costs of $1.5 million from former News of the World editor Andy Coulson.

Radio host David Lee Travis who has been fighting child sex charges has already sold his $2m house to pay for legal costs in the first of two trials he has faced.

Harris has already paid about $1m to defence lawyers, who sought initially to prevent publication of his name for months after he was first questioned by police in November 2012. He then had several weeks of pre-trial hearings, a seven-week trial and eight days of jury deliberations. Judge Nigel Sweeney is expected to make an order about costs just before sentencing tomorrow.

Harris has three companies in Britain. Rolf Harris Enterprises, set up in 1963 has £2,558,338 in assets. Rhel Holdings was set up in January 2012, 10 months before Harris was first questioned by police. Last financial year it enjoyed profits of £1,654,379 and capital of £2,080,528 from Rolf Harris Enterprises. RHE Investments was established around the same time and is a family trust with £1.6m in cash and £5.3m in fixed assets and investments.