Actor John Alford found guilty of sexually assaulting two teenage girls

Former London’s Burning actor John Alford has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old and 15-year-old girl during a party at a friend’s home.

The 53-year-old was charged with four counts of sexual activity with the younger girl and charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration relating to the second teenager at a property in Hertfordshire on April 9 2022.

A jury at St Albans Crown Court convicted Alford of all charges on Friday following a week-long trial and more than 13 hours of deliberations.

Alford put his head in his hand and shouted “Wrong, I didn’t do this” from the dock as the verdicts were read out in court.

Sobbing could also be heard from the public gallery.

The 12-strong jury found Alford guilty on each of the six counts by a majority verdict of 10 to two.

Jurors heard during the trial that the defendant, charged under his real name John Shannon, sexually assaulted the girls while they were drunk following a night out at the pub.

All of the offences took place at the home of a third girl whose father was friends with Alford.

The former actor, who appeared in the BBC drama Grange Hill, bought some £250 worth of food, alcohol and cigarettes from a nearby petrol station in the early hours of the morning, including a bottle of vodka which the victims subsequently drank.

Alford then had sexual intercourse with the 14-year-old girl in the garden of the home and later in a downstairs toilet, and inappropriately touched the 15-year-old girl as she lay half asleep on the living room sofa.

Police received a third-party report from the 15-year-old girl’s mother outlining the allegations two days later, before the defendant was arrested.

The 15-year-old girl said in her evidence she had felt “absolutely sick” following the assault and had planned to keep the incident secret before having a “mental breakdown” to her friend’s mother on April 11.

Alford told jurors during the trial that all the allegations were “scandalous” and a “set-up”, and that there was no DNA evidence to support the assaults.

He said he had told police that the girls were “going to extort money” from him, and that he suffered from mental health issues including anxiety, depression and paranoia.

Recorder Caroline Overton granted Alford conditional bail ahead of his sentencing at the same court on December 4.

She warned the defendant he had been convicted of “very serious matters” and should expect to receive a custodial sentence.

The bail conditions included a reinstated curfew for Alford between 6pm and 6am each day, to report to a police station on Mondays and Fridays and not to have contact with anyone under the age of 18 with the exception of his own family members.

Addressing the jury, Ms Overton said: “I want to start to by sincerely thanking you for your work on this trial.

“You have very clearly given a lot of time and care to this matter.”

Alford was previously convicted of supplying illicit drugs to former News of the World journalist Mazher Mahmood, who was known as the “fake sheikh”, following a trial in 1999, and was jailed for nine months.

Jurors heard he also received a payment of £500,000 from the news organisation in relation to allegations that his phone had been hacked.

Alford was convinced by Mahmood to meet a fake Arabian prince at London’s Savoy hotel in 1997 on the promise of receiving new acting roles and lucrative public appearances, before later being asked to source cocaine for the individual.

He later filed lawsuits against the News Of The World and its editors with claims that he was subjected to landline wire-taps, voicemail hacking and the wide-ranging theft of his personal data for use in their headline stories.

Mahmood was jailed in 2016 for tampering with evidence in the collapsed drugs trial of pop star Tulisa Contostavlos, which led to Alford’s conviction being examined by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Investigator Laura Harrison, of Hertfordshire Police, said: “Throughout this trial, Shannon [Alford] consistently denied any sexual activity and maintained that the two child victims were attempting to extort him for money — despite the fact that neither child knew who Shannon was, nor that he was an actor, as they were born long after his career began.

“At no point did Shannon accept responsibility, admit guilt, or show any remorse for his actions.

“There is no doubt that Shannon’s behaviour that evening was predatory and carried out solely for his own sexual gratification.

“Reporting offences of this nature is never easy. I want to commend the victims for their courage in coming forward and for the strength they have shown throughout this lengthy and complex investigation. Their determination has never wavered, and this is testament to their bravery.”