IRELAND
Sunday Independent
Carol Hunt
Published 06/07/2014
I recall, years ago, listening to some friends reminiscing about their not so pleasant school days. One mentioned an infamous teacher who had earned the soubriquet “Feeler”.
“Why?” I asked rather naively. They rolled their eyes at me. “Why do you think?” The man in question had disappeared suddenly when a brave father had arrived at the principal’s office to complain; he was later discovered to have been sent to a so-called Third World country where parents don’t have quick access to solicitors.
I was reminded of this conversation last week when I heard that Rolf Harris had earned himself the nickname “The Octopus”. Why? Well, as those boys said so many years ago, “Why do you think?”
As with so many other cases of child abuse, the evidence was there all along, in front of our eyes, hiding in broad daylight. Harris had a penchant for “playing” with young girls. We now know that he visited websites on his computer with names like “My little nieces” and “Tiny teen girlfriends”.
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