Criminal defence solicitor who abused clients is jailed

A former criminal defence solicitor has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting seven of his clients.

Alan Harris, 72, of Thorn Park, Plymouth, described by a victim as a "monster" who preyed on the "scared and desperate", committed the offences between 1988 and 2015, mainly during private legal consultations at Plymouth Magistrates' Court and Charles Cross Police station in the city.

Harris was convicted in December of five counts of indecent assault and five sexual assaults against six men and one woman who were mainly teenagers at the time.

Winchester Crown Court heard his victims, one of whom was 14, were all extremely vulnerable and they thought no-one would ever believe them.

Harris made his clients perform sexual acts on him while he touched them in a sexual manner and also sexually assaulted one male in his car, the court was told.

The jury heard Harris's victims were caught between objecting to his assaults and knowing he could help them stay out of jail.

The victims, none of whom can be named, also believed that because of their age and backgrounds, they would not be believed. Some had mental health or substance misuse issues.

Judge Angela Morris said one of Harris's victims had been abused by a paedophile gang including William Goad who was jailed for life in 2004 for sexual offences over a 35-year period and died in 2012.

"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".

"You were the one person on whom they should have been able to rely," she said.

"In many cases, victims were under the influence of drugs or coming down off drugs, so were desperate to be released from custody as soon as possible.

"They were exactly the sort of people who would not complain, so they were easy targets."

Harris made no reaction as he was led away from the dock.

One male victim, struggling to hold back tears, told Harris in court: "You abused me at my most vulnerable, at a time when I was supposed to trust you.

"I was scared and desperate. You knew that, and you preyed on me. No one would have believed me. Who would have believed me over you?

"Our parents never knew what you did to us, you monster."

The court heard Harris had built up a "successful" career as a defence solicitor in Plymouth over 40 years.

Christine Agnew KC, defending, said: "To say he has had a mighty fall from grace is a colossal understatement."

A police investigation into the allegations was launched in 2015, the court heard.

Harris was interviewed twice but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which brings prosecutions, said there was not enough evidence for the allegations to go to court.

Harris retired in 2016 but when another alleged victim came forward in 2019, police reopened the investigation and in 2024 Harris was charged.

A spokesperson for the CPS said Harris was 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 investigating officer Ch Supt Roy Linden, speaking after the case, said the sentencing showed that "nobody is above the law, regardless of their professional standing".

He said it had been Harris's job to represent his clients and ensure they were treated fairly and safely, but "instead, he abused his privileged status and the private access afforded to him as an opportunity to sexually assault the victims, making them think nobody would ever believe them".

He said the case had been "a protracted and complex investigation" and Harris had been brought to justice "due to the tenacity, the patience and the strength of the victims in this case".

Linden acknowledged that much of the offending happened in private legal consultations in the custody suite at Charles Cross police station.

"It remains a fundamental legal right for a defendant and a solicitor to meet and speak in private. It was Alan Harris who exploited this," he said. Linden said there were no plans for CCTV cameras in interview rooms at the police station.

"We have to balance the rights of people who've been arrested in law and morally and ethically to have a private consultation with a solicitor," he said.

"That said, there have been significant changes over a number of years in custody, so all the access areas, the communal areas within a custody site, most of our cells and detention cells are now audio recorded or video recorded, so any chance of any offending to take place in those environments is somewhat limited."

Harris's former law firm, AH Solicitors, did not want to comment, but said its thoughts were with the victims.

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