TV entertainer Rolf Harris used "bear hugs" to disguise his serial sexual abuse, a court has been told.
Harris, who denies 12 charges of indecent assault, is facing questions from prosecutor Sasha Wass QC.
She told the jury all the alleged victims describe a similar scenario: bear hugs then sexual molestation.
The prosecution claims Harris committed child abuse in conducting an affair with his daughter's best friend, and that he "psychologically dominated that girl" so she kept it secret.
But the 84-year-old said the relationship was based on a "mutual feeling of warmth and affection".
Harris told Southwark Crown Court he had worked with the NSPCC on child abuse issues, making a campaign video for them.
But Ms Wass described him as a "brilliant and polished performer".
The prosecutor said the trial was "not a talent show" as she recalled how he had entertained the court by singing during his earlier evidence.
Jurors were told: "Underneath the friendly and loveable exterior there is a darker side."
Accused of being "pretty good" at hiding this dark side, Harris replied: "I suppose so."
Ms Wass said the court had to discover "how dark that dark side is".
The jury has been told how his daughter's friend alleges she was molested by Harris twice during a family holiday in Hawaii in 1978.
The defendant said it was "possible" he had admired her body during the holiday but, speaking in a soft voice, insisted "nothing happened" during that period and he had "no recollection" of the other allegations.
Ms Wass said Harris had "betrayed" his wife Alwen's trust by having an affair with the 'victim' and then later with the family's housekeeper.
Harris, of Bray, Berkshire, denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four women aged from seven or eight and 19 between 1968 and 1986.
The trial continues.
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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/rolf-harris-disguised-abuse-bear-hugs-102104674.html
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