Harris trial - Judge sums up case to jury

FORMER CITY SOLICITOR FACING 22 SEXUAL OFFENCE CHARGES

- By CARL EVE [e-mail]

THE judge presiding over the trial of a retired criminal defence solicitor accused of sexually assaulting seven men and one woman - all clients - has been summing up the case to a jury.

Alan Harris, now aged 72 and of Thorn Park, Plymouth, has been on trial at Winchester Crown Court since November 4. He is accused of 12 charges of indecent assault, eight charges of sexual assault and two charges of rape, dating from 1989 to 2015.

None of the alleged victims can be identified for legal reasons.

At one stage Harris faced 30 charges. However, during the trial the jury was directed by the Recorder of Winchester Crown Court, Judge Angela Morris, to return not guilty verdicts on eight charges, including charges of six counts of indecent assault, one count of rape and one count of buggery upon Male B.

The jury was told that this was because Male B had chosen not to engage with the Crown and would now not be called as a witness in the trial.

Judge Morris reminded the jury that the investigation into Harris's alleged offending began in 2015 after Male A, who was in his early 40s at that time, made a comment to a police officer on July 30, 2015, claiming that he had been sexually assaulted by the solicitor when he was aged around 15 or 16 years old, sometime between December 1989 and August 1991. Judge Morris reminded the jury that Male A told the officer “you know, he targets young vulnerable boys who have no-one -I’m not the only one”

Judge Morris took the jury through a number of the allegations which saw Harris accused of indecently assaulting clients either in the ‘juvenile’ cells of Charles Cross police station custody suite, in the police station’s interview rooms, in the cells below Plymouth Magistrates’ Court and in its conference rooms, in his former office in Queen Anne Terrace, North Hill, and in his car, described in court as a blue or silver S60 Volvo.