Disgraced Isle of Wight Councillor, Daryll Pitcher — who was sentenced to two years in prison for historic child rape — has resigned.
He has spent the past three months behind bars while still remaining as an Isle of Wight Councillor for Wootton Bridge.
Following a trial at the Isle of Wight Crown Court in April, Pitcher was found guilty of two counts of rape of a girl under 13 in the 1990s when he was a teenager.
He has submitted an appeal against his conviction, but it is yet to be heard.
From the time he was arrested until yesterday (Wednesday), Pitcher had been an official member of the Isle of Wight council and had, during that time attended meetings.
Resignation letter
A council spokesperson has confirmed it received written notice of Pitcher’s resignation, which took effect from yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 12th July 2023).
Pitcher was elected to represent Wootton Bridge in May 2021, after also holding the position between 2013 and 2017.
By-election in Wootton Bridge
His resignation will force a by-election in the Wootton Bridge seat later this year, which the council has said it is in the process of making arrangements for.
Pitcher was the only member of the Vectis Party to be successfully elected to the Isle of Wight Council in 2021, but resigned from the party, and as its leader, after being jailed.
IWC couldn’t remove Pitcher
After his conviction, the Isle of Wight council said it could not remove Pitcher from his position due to the open appeal.
Under the Local Government Act, a councillor is disqualified from their post if they are sentenced to three months or more in prison, but the Isle of Wight council said the disqualification could not take effect until the appeal was either dropped or abandoned.
Meeting attendance
Councillors can also be disqualified if they do not attend a meeting in six months, which Pitcher would have done by the end of July.
At one point, Pitcher had been imprisoned at HMP The Verne in Dorset, a special prison for men convicted of a sexual offence.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
