Rolf Harris loses first round of appeal against indecent assault conviction
Convicted sex offender Rolf Harris has lost the first round of a legal challenge against his conviction for indecently assaulting girls.
The disgraced artist and television entertainer was jailed in July for nearly six years after he was found guilty of 12 charges of indecently assaulting four girls in the UK between 1968 and 1986.
The 84-year-old lodged an appeal in August and the Judicial Office in London has confirmed a judge refused Harris's application for permission to appeal.
He can still renew the application but at this stage his intentions are not known.
Any plan by prosecutors to appeal against the leniency of his conviction has already been ruled out, despite at least 150 complaints.
Britain's attorney-general said he believed judges would not think the five year and nine month sentence was too light.
Harris will not spend the entire time behind bars, as half will be served as a non-custodial sentence.
The sentencing judge said the artist and musician took advantage of his celebrity status and had shown no remorse.
British police are continuing to investigate a number of allegations about Harris.
The allegations at trial centred on four complainants, however, another six women gave supporting evidence that Harris had abused them in Australia, New Zealand and Malta between 1969 and 1991.
