Ron Grahame, a former councillor from Leeds convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing a young child over 40 years ago, has been released from custody.
A jury determined that Ron Grahame was culpable for two charges of indecent assault, one act of attempted buggery, and one count of attempted rape against his victim, whom he assaulted at his residence in the early 1980s.
Nonetheless, 80-year-old Ron Grahame, who refuted the allegations, was adjudged medically incompetent to stand trial at Leeds Crown Court due to his vascular dementia.
A factual trial occurred instead, with the jury solely determining if Ron Grahame committed the charges, rather than rendering a guilty verdict.
This also implies that Ron Grahame, who served as a Labour councillor on Leeds City Council for 21 years, cannot be subjected to disciplinary action for his conduct.
Recorder Bryan Cox KC granted him an absolute discharge for all four crimes upon the completion of proceedings.
He was informed that he would be required to register as a sex offender for a duration of five years.
The jury was informed that Ron Grahame, previously known as Ronnie Blower at the time of the charges, repeatedly assaulted his victim after inviting her to his residence for gymnastics on Saturdays.
When his then-wife proposed that the girl change in a bedroom, Ron Grahame demanded she change in the living room in his presence.
In the victim’s police interview, shown to the jury, the woman said that Ron Grahame touched her genitals multiple times across several months as she performed handstands.
She later told how, on one occasion when she was staying at the house overnight, she “curled up and froze” as Ron Grahame got into a bed with her and tried to rape her.
The jury was told the attack was only stopped by the sound of Ron Grahame’s then wife moving downstairs and he fled the room, leaving the girl “crying all night”.
The victim had later told both her parents what had happened, but neither contacted the police, the court was told.
She reported the abuse herself in 2020 after finding a picture of Ron Grahame in an online article and realising he had changed his name.
Ron Grahame, now of Swardale Green in Leeds, was first elected to the city council in 1982 for the Whinmoor ward and served until 1991.
He was later elected to represent the Burmantofts and Richmond Hill ward in 2010, but was suspended by Labour in 2020 after he was charged with the offences.
He stood down from the council in 2022 when his four-year term expired.
The criminal case against him was adjourned on several occasions, mainly to allow for medical information on his dementia and fitness to stand trial to be gathered.
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