Former actor John Alford, named in court documents as John Shannon, appeared at St Albans Crown Court facing four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old and two counts relating to a second girl, then 15, including sexual assault and assault by penetration. The offences are alleged to have taken place in Hertfordshire in the early hours of 9 April 2022 at the home of a third girl, after a night out and a party. The two alleged victims did not know him and were said to be drinking, with Alford, of Holloway, north London, in the dock wearing a white shirt and headphones.

Prosecutors said the 14-year-old tried to call her mother and arrange an Uber to leave after other guests had gone to bed around 12:30am. Alford arrived at the property around 2am, having been there with the third girl’s father. He is alleged to have remained with the two girls, asked their ages and shown he knew they were under 16. He is said to have left to a petrol station, returned with vodka, and then engaged in sexual activity with the 14-year-old, which was described as unwanted but not stopped by her. A second sexual encounter with her allegedly occurred in a downstairs toilet after pulling her onto him.

The prosecution also alleges assaults on a second 15-year-old girl. Neither girl reported the incidents immediately; police were told in a third-party report by the 15-year-old’s mother on 11 April 2022, and Alford was arrested the following day after interviews with the girls. In a police statement, he said one of the girls had tried to kiss him and claimed she was 17, and he denied touching her; he suggested the girls were attempting to extort money, a claim for which no material supporting it was found on any phones. The trial, which had been listed for December, was delayed due to his medical illness. The case continues.