Former London’s Burning actor John Alford, 54, has been jailed at St Albans Crown Court for eight-and-a-half years after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two girls aged 14 and 15 during a party at a friend’s home.
John Alford, 53, who appeared in court under his real name John Shannon, was found guilty at St Albans Crown Court following a week-long trial. The jury reached its verdicts after more than 13 hours of deliberations, convicting him on all counts.
The court heard that the offences involved girls aged 14 and 15 and took place during the early hours of 9 April 2022 at a property in Hertfordshire. Shannon faced four counts of sexual activity with the younger girl, along with charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration relating to the second teenager.
As the verdicts were delivered, John Shannon, allegedy reacted from the dock by putting his head in his hands and shouting: ‘Wrong, I didn’t do this’.
Jurors were told that both girls had been drinking alcohol and were drunk following a night out at a pub. The offences occurred at the home of a third girl, whose father was friends with John.
During the trial, the prosecution said Shannon bought £250 worth of food, alcohol and cigarettes from a nearby petrol station in the early hours of the morning, including a bottle of vodka that the girls later drank. John, 54, had returned to the house with the homeowner after a night out. He gave the girls alcohol and then had sexual intercourse with the younger girl in the garden and in a downstairs bathroom. It was also alleged that he inappropriately touched the 15-year-old girl while she lay half asleep on a living room sofa.
One of the victims told the court she felt ‘absolutely sick’ following the assault. She said, ‘We were all just like dozing off. That was when John started to touch me.’
She explained that after being dropped off at the other girl’s home, they immediately went into the bathroom together, where they ‘spoke about everything that happened’. She later opened up about the incidents while visiting another friend on April 11th. ‘I had a mental breakdown to my best mate’s mum in the garden and she called my mum,’ she said.
In a video recording of her police interview played to the jury, the younger girl said she had never had sex before that night. She told officers: ‘I told him to stop because I didn’t want to have sex with an old man.’
While giving evidence, John Shannon denied all allegations and became emotional in court. He told jurors that he had ‘never touched either of them girls’.
John disclosed previous criminal convictions dating back to 1999, including offences relating to the supply of drugs, disorderly behaviour, drink-driving, criminal damage and obstructing police. He told the court that a conviction for supplying drugs had resulted in him being ‘blacklisted’ as an actor.
Prosecutor Julie Whitby told the jury that John ‘was in no doubt both the girls were under 16’. She said the defendant denied that any sexual activity had taken place and claimed he told one girl ‘no’, pointing out that he had children of a similar age. In his police statement, John said: ‘At no point did I touch her in any sexual way at all.’
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Lawyer Chris White for the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘John Shannon was fully aware of the girl’s ages, yet he chose to exploit them – giving them alcohol and then committing sexual offences against them.
‘We commend the victims for reporting what happened. They were supported to give evidence against Shannon: their statements were recorded and played to the jury during the trial, and we arranged for screens to be provided so they did not have to face the defendant during cross examination.
‘Shannon’s sentence today sends a clear message – we will pursue those who target young people for their own gratification.’
The trial had originally been scheduled to begin in December but was postponed after Alford collapsed. The charges followed an investigation by Hertfordshire’s specialist Sexual Offences Investigation Team.
Investigator Laura Harrison from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team said: ‘I want to praise the bravery of our two victims for coming forward and reporting Shannon’s horrific crimes to police.
‘Shannon has not shown a sign of remorse, from his interviews in custody, to the trial which his victims had to endure.
‘I hope that our victims are now able to move on in their lives knowing that their offender is spending a considerable amount of time behind bars.’
The actor became known to television audiences in the 1980s after being cast as Robbie Wright in the BBC children’s drama Grange Hill in 1985. From 1993, he played firefighter Billy Ray in ITV’s London’s Burning. He briefly stepped away from acting to work as a scaffolder and minicab driver, but returned to the industry in 2000.
