Former Wiltshire councillor guilty of serious sexual assaults on teens

A former Wiltshire councillor and RAF veteran has been found guilty of numerous serious sexual assaults on young boys.

Timothy Darch, 62, of Southrop Road, Kingsway, Quedgeley, was found guilty today (20 February) following a trial at Swindon Crown Court.

The offences took place between 1996 and 1997 on three teenagers aged 14 or 15 years-old.

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Darch was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 16, and four counts of rape on a boy under the age of 16.

The defendant, who was a Wiltshire councillor in Lyneham between 2018-2020, is due to be sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on March 28.

Detective Constable Ross Duff, from Swindon CID said: “Darch met the young men through Swindon organisations such as support charities for young gay men.

”Darch put himself in a position of trust and exploited and took advantage of those vulnerable children.

“I would like to thank his victims for their incredible bravery throughout this process, by giving their evidence to police and throughout the trial.

“I hope that this verdict reassures our community that we take these allegations very seriously, and that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

”We will relentlessly pursue offenders to secure justice for their victims and want to reassure anyone who reports incidents of serious sexual assault and rape to us that they will be believed”.

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