Ex-councillor sentenced over child sex offences

A former Labour councillor who sent a nude video of himself to someone he thought was a 13-year-old schoolgirl has been handed a suspended jail sentence.

Liron Velleman, 31, used the alias "Tim Graham 95" to send his messages on an online chatroom and Snapchat, unaware he was talking to an undercover police officer.

His messages between 3 and 10 December 2024 culminated in him stripping down to his underwear and urging for the girl to send pictures of herself in her underwear.

Appearing at Southwark Crown Court, he was handed an eight-month prison sentence suspended for the next 15 months and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for the next 10 years.

Prosecutor Edmund Blackman said the undercover officer, using the name Kaylee, was approached by Velleman on messaging service Chatib at the start of December 2024.

"He was told from the off that she was 13, and he maintained an interest in her," he said.

"The chat moved to Snapchat, and it became sexual quite quickly."

The messages continued over the course of several days, during which Velleman talked about sex acts before sending a video of his penis, Mr Blackman said.

Velleman resigned as a Labour councillor for the ward of Whetstone in Barnet, north London, after his arrest for child sexual offences.

He pleaded guilty in February having been charged with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to look at an image of sexual activity.

During sentencing, Judge James Lofthouse told Velleman: "You know you have no one to blame for the disintegration of your personal and professional life but yourself.

"This is where your reckless, vile and frankly devious interest in children has led you."

Velleman, of North Finchley, was supported in court by his parents, as the judge also ordered him to carry out 180 hours of community service and 20 rehabilitation days as part of his suspended prison sentence.

He will be under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the next 10 years, and must also pay £150 in costs and a £187 victim surcharge.

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