CRIMINAL DEFENCE SOLICITOR WHO ABUSED CLIENTS IS JAILED
A former criminal defence solicitor has been handed a 13-year prison sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing seven clients.Alan Harris, aged 72 and from Thorn Park in Plymouth, was described by one victim as a "monster" who targeted the "scared and desperate." The offences spanned from 1988 to 2015, mostly occurring during private legal meetings at Plymouth Magistrates' Court and Charles Cross Police Station.
In December, Harris was convicted on five counts of indecent assault and five sexual assault charges against six men and one woman, most of whom were teenagers at the time.
Prosecutors at Winchester Crown Court highlighted that the victims, including a 14-year-old, were extremely vulnerable and believed their appeals would not be believed.
The court was told Harris coerced clients into performing sexual acts on him, touched them inappropriately, and sexually assaulted a male in his car.
The jury heard that victims felt trapped between resisting Harris and fearing that seeking help would jeopardise their chances of avoiding jail.
Many believed their youth and personal circumstances made them unlikely to be believed, with some suffering from mental health or substance misuse issues.
Judge Angela Morris noted that one victim had previously been abused by William Goad, a paedophile gang member who was sentenced to life in 2004 and died in 2012.
The judge explained, "He was taking drugs to anaesthetise himself from the abuse," said the judge.
"And he was sexually abused by you the first time you met him.
"He had confided to you about rape and sexual abuse from the time he was 13 so when you exploited this person for your own sexual gratification you compounded the trauma and fear and he felt powerless to stop you.
"It was a gross breach of trust of the most serious kind." She said all the victims had "placed their trust in you".
She emphasised that all victims relied on Harris's honesty and professionalism, and that they often were under the influence of drugs, making them less likely to report the abuse.
Harris maintained a successful legal career in Plymouth over four decades.
His defence counsel acknowledged his fall from grace, with Christine Agnew KC stating, "To say he has had a mighty fall from grace is a colossal understatement." The police launched an investigation in 2015, but after interviewing Harris twice, the CPS decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.
Harris retired in 2016, but when a new victim came forward in 2019, police reopened the case, leading to his charges in 2024.
A CPS spokesperson described Harris as a "manipulative sex offender who grossly violated his role as a criminal defence solicitor and caused untold harm.
"As soon as we were confident we had sufficient evidence, we charged Harris and brought him to justice for his crimes." Senior Detective Superintendent Roy Linden commented that the sentence demonstrated that "nobody is above the law," regardless of professional status.
He lamented that Harris abused the confidentiality inherent in legal consultations mainly conducted privately in custody suites and noted that while privacy rights are important, many custody areas now have audio or video recording to prevent misconduct.
Harris’s former firm, AH Solicitors, declined to comment but expressed sympathies with the victims.
