Former Barnet Labour councillor pleads guilty to child sex offences
Liron Velleman admitted multiple offences
A former Barnet Labour councillor who suddenly quit the role last year has pleaded guilty to a series of sex offences.
Liron Velleman, elected as a Labour councillor for Whetstone ward in 2022, admitted multiple child sex offences, including attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to watch or look at an image of sexual activity.
Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court heard that Velleman, 30, sent the 13 year-old girl naked pictures of himself and asked whether she was “at home alone”.
He also told her to “show me your bra” and asked “whether she was a virgin”.
He carried out the offences between 3rd December and 10th December 2024 and was caught by a Metropolitan Police sting operation.
Defence barrister, Ali Hussain, told the court that Velleman had been suffering from depression. He said the former councillor was “a person of good character.”
He added, “He is currently unemployed. He is a family man. There is a great deal about his background which will assist the court to see how exactly he came to find himself in this position.”
Velleman resigned from the Labour Party last April and had also been a member of the Jewish Labour Movement, and previously worked for the Community Union.
Velleman’s sentencing was adjourned to February 10 at the same court.
He was released on conditional bail, not to be in the company of someone under the age of 18.
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