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John Alford Returns to Court for Sentencing After Sex-Offence Convictions

Police say he continues to deny the offences, claiming the girls sought to extort him.

Overview

  • A jury at St Albans Crown Court found Alford, tried under his real name John Shannon, guilty in September on six counts including sexual activity with a child and penetrative sexual assault.
  • The assaults occurred in April 2022 after an impromptu gathering in Hoddesdon where alcohol was supplied following a late-night petrol station purchase.
  • Court evidence stated he had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old in the garden and a downstairs toilet and touched a 15-year-old as she was half-asleep on a sofa.
  • A video of the 14-year-old’s police interview was played to the court in which she said she told him to stop and that she had never had sex before that night.
  • Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team described his behaviour as predatory and commended the victims for coming forward.