Overview

• The 53-year-old, whose legal name is John Shannon, was found guilty of offences involving a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old after a trial at St Albans Crown Court.
• The court heard the assaults occurred on April 9, 2022, after Alford left a house party to buy vodka, cigarettes and food at a nearby petrol station.
• Jurors were told he had sex with the 14-year-old in a garden and later in a downstairs toilet, and performed a sexual act on the 15-year-old while she was dozing.
• Both teenagers delayed reporting because they had been drinking, with one disclosing the abuse on April 11 to a friend’s mother, prompting police involvement.
• Alford denied wrongdoing, claimed one girl said she was 17 and alleged an extortion attempt, but the jury rejected his account; sentencing details were not disclosed.