Cathy Henkel was a long term friend of Rolf Harris and the person in charge of the theatre group that included Tonya Lee. Henkel gave evidence against Rolf Harris in support of Tonya Lee but her evidence defies common sense to the point that we believe it becomes suspicious.
How did this thin, weak testimony which evidenced absolutely nothing even make it to a courtroom?
The answer is summed up succinctly by the words of Paul Gambaccini:
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Gambaccini said: “It is a tactic of the police to call out and ask if people would like to make accusations.
“This was brought to my attention by Liz Kershaw of 6 Music, two weeks before I was arrested, she told me that [Operation] Yewtree had called her and asked her if she would like to accuse Dave Lee Travis. And she said ‘No, don’t you need evidence?’ and they said ‘No we need people who agree’.
Tonya Lee was the accuser and Cathy Henkel was the person who despite not witnessing a single thing 'agreed'!
How did this thin, weak testimony which evidenced absolutely nothing even make it to a courtroom?
The answer is summed up succinctly by the words of Paul Gambaccini:
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Gambaccini said: “It is a tactic of the police to call out and ask if people would like to make accusations.
“This was brought to my attention by Liz Kershaw of 6 Music, two weeks before I was arrested, she told me that [Operation] Yewtree had called her and asked her if she would like to accuse Dave Lee Travis. And she said ‘No, don’t you need evidence?’ and they said ‘No we need people who agree’.
Tonya Lee was the accuser and Cathy Henkel was the person who despite not witnessing a single thing 'agreed'!
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In the clip below Henkel makes it clear that she only came to believe Lee after 'speaking to her' - that is NOT evidence.
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Cathy Henkel had access to both the Women's Day article and the Current Affair interview well in advance of the trial because both were in the public domain. Henkel should have seen Lee's account of the pot plant and the tablecloth. She needed to think a bit more carefully and remember that there was no room for a pot plant in that narrow tight corner; that the pub did not use tablecloths and that the door Rolf Harris had allegedly followed Tonya Lee through was out of bounds to men because it was clearly labelled 'LADIES'.
Henkel is correct when she says that 'memory is a funny thing'. |
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In court under cross examination Henkel stated that she did not notice anything untoward at the time. She only remembered Lee sitting on Harris's lap after seeing Lee's interview on TV. In the interview above Henkel describes it as a 'flash memory'. We all have false memories brought on by suggestion and this flash of memory occurring after watching Lee's TV interview where Lee tells this story in detail is a common phenomenon. Recounting a memory brought about by suggestion and influence was NOT evidence.
Henkel backed up her statement in the interview by saying that somebody else she knew told her that Rolf Harris had done the same thing to them. Nowhere can we find Henkel stating this in court and this is just hearsay given to a TV interviewer probably to add substance to the interview. This was NOT given in court!
Cathy Henkel did not offer any evidence whatsoever and only repeated what she had seen in a TV interview and she decided Rolf Harris had assaulted Tonya Lee because Tonya Lee told her he had. That was it - no evidence whatsoever! As Paul Gambaccini said - all she needed to do to was agree.
Henkel backed up her statement in the interview by saying that somebody else she knew told her that Rolf Harris had done the same thing to them. Nowhere can we find Henkel stating this in court and this is just hearsay given to a TV interviewer probably to add substance to the interview. This was NOT given in court!
Cathy Henkel did not offer any evidence whatsoever and only repeated what she had seen in a TV interview and she decided Rolf Harris had assaulted Tonya Lee because Tonya Lee told her he had. That was it - no evidence whatsoever! As Paul Gambaccini said - all she needed to do to was agree.
Cathy Henkel is the daughter of a woman who was violently raped and disfigured by a violent attacker who was never brought to justice despite his identity being known. Henkel produced a documentary called 'The man who stole my mother's face' about the quest for justice.
The question arises whether Henkel has a natural tendency to believe women who claim sexual assault and in the case of Tonya Lee was just blinded by her own natural prejudice.
The question arises whether Henkel has a natural tendency to believe women who claim sexual assault and in the case of Tonya Lee was just blinded by her own natural prejudice.
The Leigh Park allegation and Wendy Wild
