Court Reporter
Former Devon County Council leader Brian Greenslade
- Credit: Archant
A former leader of Devon County Council has been found guilty of sexually assaulting three women in separate incidents in the 1990s and 2000s.
Brian Greenslade was convicted by a jury at Exeter Crown Court despite denying any inappropriate behaviour and dismissing one allegation as absolute nonsense.
Greenslade groped the three women in separate incidents, two of them while on council business and one while working as an accountant.
One victim told how he thrust his hand down her trousers as they left a site visit for a planning application in Cullompton in 1995.
Court Reporter
Brian Greenslade.
- Credit: Archant
Disgraced former Devon County Council leader Brian Greenslade has been jailed and branded a ‘sex pest’ after being found guilty of sex assaults on three women.
The 72-year-old left the three victims feeling violated, shocked and ashamed after he groped them in separate incidents in the 1990s and 2000s.
He was jailed for 16 months by a judge who described him as a sex pest who had a dark side and used his position of power as cover for his crimes.
All the assaults happened when he was already a prominent councillor and member of the police authority.
Devon ex-council leader Brian Greenslade guilty of sex assaults
Published
image captionBrian Greenslade was Devon County Council leader and a member of the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority
A former council leader has been found guilty of sexually assaulting three women.
At Exeter Crown Court, former Devon County Council boss Brian Greenslade, 72, had denied two counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault in the 1990s and 2000s.
He said the incidents may have arisen from misunderstandings or accidental contact rather than deliberate actions.
However, a jury found him guilty after deliberating for less than two hours.
Greenslade, of Marwood, near Barnstaple, who was also a member of the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority, said none of the separate incidents happened.
Barnstaple councillor Brian Greenslade. Picture: Tony Gussin
- Credit: Archant
Devon County Council has responded to today’s guilty verdict for former council leader Brian Greenslade, who was convicted of sexual assaulting three women in the 1990s and 2000s.
A spokesman for Devon County Council said: “Our thoughts are with the survivors who suffered at the hands of Brian Greenslade.
“We are pleased that our actions in 2017 in response to complaints from members of council staff have helped to shine a light on the issue of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct in the workplace and particularly when involving those in positions of authority.
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