British justice sentenced ex-MP Imran Khan to 18 months in prison on Monday (May 23) for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old teenager, a case adding to an embarrassing series for the ruling Conservative Party.
Read alsoBritish MP arrested for rape released on bail
Found guilty in April by the South Crown Court, this 48-year-old elected official had indicated that he wanted to appeal and resigned from his mandate.
A by-election to replace him is scheduled for June 23 in his constituency of West Yorkshire (northern England), amid a difficult backdrop for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party due to the holiday scandal in Downing Street during lockdowns and the fall in purchasing power.
At a party in January 2008, Imran Khan made a teenager drink gin.
He then, according to the prosecution, dragged her upstairs, pushed her onto a bed and asked her to watch pornography before proceeding to fondle her feet and legs.
“
The only regret you have shown is for yourself, for the predicament you find yourself in because of your actions 14 years ago
,” Judge Jeremy Baker said Monday as he handed down his sentence.
The lawyer for the elected official, who suffers from a degenerative disease, repeated that he refuted the charges against him.
The facts had been reported to the police at the time but no prosecution had been initiated, the teenager not wishing to file a complaint.
The latter had revived the case when Imran Khan was elected to Parliament in 2019.
Read alsoUnited Kingdom: accused of watching porn in Parliament, a British MP confesses and resigns
This affair added to an embarrassing series for the Conservative Party in recent months.
Latest: an unnamed MP suspected of rape was arrested and released on bail in mid-May.
The Sunday Times recently reported that 56 MPs, out of the 650 in the House of Commons, have been reported to an office responsible for registering complaints, including for "
bad behavior of a sexual nature
", a term which can cover sexual harassment, voyeurism or sexual assault.
This office was set up following the “
MeToo
” movement.
