Police ScotlandA Fife councillor has been jailed for 27 months for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl over a six-month period.
David Graham, 43, groomed and sexually abused the girl at a variety of locations in the Fife and Edinburgh areas in 2023.
He has been added to the sex offenders register for 10 years following a trial at Kirkcaldy Sherriff Court.
Fife Council confirmed he had been disqualified from serving as a councillor, while the Scottish Labour Party expelled Graham when he was convicted.
The party had suspended him after he was charged by police two years ago.
Graham was first elected to Fife Council in 2012 to represent the Buckhaven, Methil, Methilhill & Wemyss Villages ward.
He was re-elected in 2022 and previously served as the council’s health spokesman and sat on the NHS Fife board.
A by-election will be held in his former ward in the next few months.
A police investigation was launched after a member of the public raised concerns over Graham’s behaviour towards the teenage girl.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said he targeted his victim at various locations including his office, car and home.
The court heard that he continued to deny any wrongdoing.
During sentencing, Sheriff Robert More told Graham he was guilty of an “escalating and brazen” course of sexual offending.
Fife Council leader David Ross said: “This case has shocked us all and I am pleased that this means David Graham will now be disqualified from serving as a councillor on Fife Council.
“I want to pay tribute to the bravery of the young person involved in this case in coming forward and hope that today’s sentencing goes some way towards her healing process.
“David Graham should have resigned as a councillor as soon as he was convicted, if not before, and his disqualification will be welcomed across the council.”
Public warned over mob gatherings
Helen Nisbet, procurator fiscal for Tayside, Central and Fife, said: “David Graham saw an opportunity to systematically groom and sexually abuse a vulnerable young girl, who had the right to be safe in his company.
“He cynically and deliberately took advantage of an unbalanced power dynamic to commit these offences over the course of several months.
“Graham has now been held accountable following this prosecution, and I give thanks to the victim for giving evidence which helped secure this conviction.”
Following his conviction, police warned the public over mob gatherings held outside a house in Methil, Levenmouth.
Video posted on social media showed crowds chanting and beeping car horns while police stood guard outside the property.
The Courier reported that these demonstrations were understood to be in relation to Graham.
