An investigation has been launched into the death of the actor John Alford after he died in prison two months into a sentence for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.
Alford (54) was jailed for 8½ years in January after he was found guilty of the assaults, which occurred during a party at a friend’s home.
The actor, who appeared in the ITV drama London’s Burning and the BBC show Grange Hill, died at HMP Bure, Norfolk on Friday, the Prison Service said.
The cause of his death has not been released. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”
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Alford, who was tried under his real name, John Shannon, was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration relating to a 15-year-old girl at a property in Hertfordshire in 2022.
Jurors heard during the trial that he had sexually assaulted the girls while they were drunk after a night out at a pub.
St Albans crown court heard that Alford bought £250 worth of food, alcohol and cigarettes from a nearby petrol station, including a bottle of vodka, which the victims subsequently drank.
Alford, from Holloway, north London, then had sex 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 Alford was arrested.
The 15-year-old girl said in her evidence that she had felt “absolutely sick” after the assault and had planned to keep the incident secret before having a “mental breakdown” to her friend’s mother on 11 April.
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 claims of assault.
The court heard that Alford had previous convictions going back to 1999. They included convictions for the supply of drugs, disorderly behaviour, drink driving, causing criminal damage and obstructing police. He claimed the conviction for the supply of drugs led to him being “blacklisted” as an actor.
Alford was born in Glasgow but spent much of his childhood in London. He was best known for his role as Billy Ray, a firefighter in London’s Burning. He joined the cast in 1992 and appeared in the show for six series.
As a child actor, he appeared in the ITV sitcom Now and Then before landing the part of Robbie Wright in Grange Hill in 1985. He featured in the schoolroom drama until 1989 and appeared on the cast’s Just Say No anti-drug single. – Guardian
