Disgraced television entertainer Rolf Harris has had one of 12 indecent assault convictions against him overturned by the court of appeal.

The three judges examining the appeal - Lord Justice Treacy, Mrs Justice McGowan and the Recorder of Preston, Judge Mark Brown - ruled that the conviction was unsafe, announcing their decision on Thursday (November 16th) in London. However, they rejected applications from the 87 year old to challenge the other 11 indecent assault convictions.

The Australian-born former artist and musician was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault at Southwark Crown Court back in June 2014, and was jailed for five years and nine months for the crimes which took place between 1968 and 1986. He has since been released from that sentence.

Rolf HarrisDisgraced entertainer Rolf Harris has overturned one of his 12 convictions

His victims included an eight-year-old who wanted an autograph, two girls in their early teens, and a friend of his daughter who endured a wide catalogue of abuse over a 16 year period.

Harris was not present in court for the ruling on Thursday for the ruling.

More: Rolf Harris cleared of additional sex assault charges as CPS rules out further re-trial

The quashed conviction related to an allegation that Harris assaulted an eight year old girl in 1969 when she attended an event at a leisure centre in Portsmouth.

The prosecution did not seek a re-trial on the count that was overturned, and the three judges agreed that such a re-trial would not be in the public interest.

However, they also ruled that Harris could not proceed to appeal against the other 11 convictions. They ruled that, “stepping back and looking at the totality of the evidence” on those remaining counts, “we find nothing that causes us to doubt the safety of those convictions”.

Back in May this year, Harris was cleared of four unconnected accusations of historical sex abuse, which he denied. He was formally found not guilty after a re-trial ended with a hung jury.

More: Rolf Harris sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in jail for indecent assault [archive]