Former Wakefield MP jailed for sex assault on teenage boy

The 48-year-old appeared at Southwark Crown Court this afternoon (Monday, May 23) to learn his fate, having been convicted of touching a 15-year-old boy at a house party in 2008.

It followed a two-week trial earlier this year when a jury unanimously found him guilty.

Khan, who has since stood down as Wakefield's MP, was handed the 18-month term, but the judge said he could not suspend the sentence, telling he will serve half before being released on licence.

The judge, Justice J Baker, said Kahn must have known there would be a "day of reckoning" for what he did.

He added: "It's apparent that the victim has been profoundly affected by what you did in 2008."

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, read out a statement at the beginning of the sentencing hearing, saying he is "constantly reliving" the assault, and that his life has been heavily affected.

He says that he had endured suicidal thoughts and that he is undergoing counselling.

Khan's defence barrister Ms Gudrun Young QC told the court that although he was the "architect of his own downfall", he has since been shunned by the Conservative Party, his Muslim faith group and friends.

She said that people have spat on him in the street, and he has been sent messages of abuse.

She added: "There's simply no sentence that can be imposed that can come close to punishing him as much as he has been punished."

Ms Young said that he has lost his job in politics and that he will never work in public life again, but added: "Most of all he has lost his reputation and good name.

"To say his reputation is in tatters does not do it justice. It's been utterly destroyed.

"He will always been known as a disgraced former MP."

Wakefield-born Khan became the first Conservative MP to win the city seat in nearly 90 years during the 2019 general election.

The seat was previously considered part of Labour's so-called 'red wall' - constituencies that have traditionally voted in Labour for decades.

Khan caused an upset by stopping Labour's Mary Creagh from being re-elected.

But last year was charged with sexual assault after a man contacted police to say he had been attacked by Khan when he was a youngster.

He said he was left horrified after learning that Khan was standing in the general election.

The assault happened in Staffordshire after a house party to which Khan had been invited as a 'friend of a friend'.

Khan denied the charge and a two-week trial took place across March and April of this year.

He had initially tried to prevent the charge from being made public, but this was overturned in court.

He also tried to conceal during the trial his homosexuality and that he drank alcohol, but the judge again rejected his bid.

The court was told that after a night of drinking in which he had "charmed" the family, Khan had dragged the boy up to his bedroom, forced him to drink gin, engaged in play fighting and asked him to put porn on his laptop.

Khan denied any of that had happened, claiming he simply spoke at length with the boy about sexuality.

After the lights were switched off, Khan, who had been staying in the same room as the boy, then began touching his leg over the top of the youngster's bunk bed.

The boy then ran out and told his parents. The police were called but the boy did not want the matter taking further out of embarrassment.

It was not until he saw that Khan was bidding to become Wakefield's MP years later that he then returned to the police, but not until after the election had been contested.

During the trial, another man gave evidence to say that he too had been sexually assaulted by Khan while working with him in Pakistan in 2010. The man, who had been working with Khan, said he was attacked as he slept after a night drinking in Peshawar.

No charges were ever brought against Khan for that incident.

The jury took around four hours to unanimously find Khan guilty of sexually assaulting the boy in Staffordshire.

Under the law, he was able to remain as MP, but chose to step down weeks later.