Paedophile TV actor John Alford reportedly placed a bet on a horse prior to his death in prison.
Alford, 54, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years in January after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two teenage girls, which occurred during a party at a friend’s home.
He died at HMP Bure in Norfolk on Friday, the Prison Service said.
The former actor, who appeared in the BBC drama Grange Hill and also London’s Burning, 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 on April 9, 2022.
It’s now being reported that Alford requested a bet was placed on the horse Johnny’s Jury at the Cheltenham Festival just before he died.
The 20/1 won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle on Friday, the same day Alford was found unresponsive.
According to The Sun, Alford’s friend posted on Facebook revealing that ‘John liked a bet’ and requested one was put on for him.
He went on to reveal the horses name, and also questioned why he’d organise the bet if he was planning on ending his life.
Jurors heard during the trial that the defendant, charged under his real name John Shannon, sexually assaulted the girls while they were drunk following a night out at the pub.
Police received a third-party report from the 15-year-old girl’s mother outlining the allegations two days later, before the defendant was arrested.
The 15-year-old girl said in her evidence she had felt ‘absolutely sick’ following the assault and had planned to keep the incident secret before having a ‘mental breakdown’ to her friend’s mother on April 11.
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 assaults.
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He said he had told police that the girls were ‘going to extort money’ from him, and that he suffered from mental health issues including anxiety, depression and paranoia.
During his trial in September prosecutor Chris White told the jury: ‘John Shannon was fully aware of the girls’ ages, yet he chose to exploit them – giving them alcohol and then committing sexual offences against them.’
He had denied the offences, and when the verdicts were delivered, he put his head in his hands and shouted ‘wrong, I didn’t do this.’
