Rolf Harris to face trial in April

Australian entertainer Rolf Harris will stand trial on 30 April next year over allegations of child sexual offences.

The 83 year old will face 13 charges, comprising  three counts of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 1986, and six of indecently assaulting a girl aged between 15 and 16 from 1980 to 1981.

He is also charged with four counts of making indecent images of a child between March and July 2012.

His lawyer indicated at a previous court hearing that Harris will plead not guilty to the charges.

The Guardian reports Harris was excused from attending a 10-minute hearing on Monday but will be required to attend a plea and case management hearing listed for January 14th.

A statement of defence on behalf of the entertainer is expected to be submitted by November 18th. Under his bail conditions, Harris is prevented from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.