Defendant alleges solicitor assaulted him in a house and court cells as jury examines historic claims
A jury has heard allegations that a defence solicitor indecently assaulted a client shortly before the man appeared at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court on a murder charge. Alan Harris, 71, of Thorn Park in Plymouth, denies 30 offences and is currently standing trial at Winchester Crown Court.
Giving evidence from the witness box, the complainant identified in court as Male G described how police officers interviewed him in June 2016 at HMP Dartmoor, where he was serving a sentence for murder. He said he provided a statement outlining two alleged incidents involving Harris: one said to have taken place at an address in Plymouth between March 2000 and March 2001, and another said to have occurred in the cells beneath Plymouth Magistrates’ Court on 2 December 2004. He claimed the second incident involved Harris touching his penis and masturbating him.
The jury heard that Male G was first introduced to Harris through an older relative who had experienced previous difficulties with the authorities and had instructed Harris as their solicitor. Male G said he began coming into contact with police during his early teens for matters including petty theft and drug use, during which Harris represented him.
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He told the court that Harris had been “quite warm, very tactile”, adding that the solicitor would hug him and pat him on the bottom. He said he had not initially recognised the behaviour as concerning when he was “very young”, but he became increasingly uncomfortable as he grew older.
Male G explained that by his late teens he was using heroin and spending time with other drug users. He said he often stayed at the home of another male involved in crime in Plymouth. According to his evidence, Harris visited that property because he also represented the other man, who left the house to go to the shops during one visit.
He said Harris sat beside him on the sofa. He described himself as “very small” at the time, while Harris was “always a big guy”. He alleged that Harris then “scooped” him onto his lap and “tried to kiss me”. He said he felt scared and found the situation “quite intimidating”, adding that he relied on Harris to represent him and did not know “how far it was going to go”.
Male G told the jury he did not disclose the alleged incidents to anyone at the time because he felt he “would not be believed”. He added: “I don’t even want to be here today talking about it.”
He said another individual approached him about Harris while he was in HMP Exeter, although he did not report the matter to police then. He said a second person spoke to him in HMP Dartmoor in 2024 regarding Harris. The jury has already been informed that both individuals have made complaints about Harris and are witnesses in the case.
During cross-examination, defence barrister Christine Agnew KC asked Male G about conversations in prison. He accepted that many inmates at HMP Dartmoor were sex offenders and that discussions about such matters were common. He said the issue of sexual assault had “dominated” his life.
Agnew KC suggested that Male G had fabricated his allegations and “jumped on the bandwagon” after hearing rumours about Harris in prison. He replied that the only rumours he had heard concerned Harris patting people on the bottom “as a kind of joke”.
When asked whether he was lying, Male G responded: “Miss, I’ve got no reason to be lying to you. This isn’t something that is easy to talk about in front of a load of strangers.”
The court heard that Harris denies offences involving nine complainants between 1989 and 2015. The trial continues.