A British member of Parliament resigned on Thursday in the wake of his conviction for sexually assaulting a boy, triggering a potentially challenging by-election.
Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, the MP for Wakefield, a city in West Yorkshire, Northern England, said he’s appealing the verdict, and it would be “intolerable” for his constituents to “go years without an MP” after they had “already been without visible parliamentary representation for a year.”
Parliament records show Khan’s last vote was cast on July 20, a month after he was charged with a sexual assault in 2008.
On April 11, a jury convicted Khan of sexual assault for groping a then-15-year-old boy at a house party. Following the conviction, the MP was expelled from the Conservative Party. Khan’s lawyer said he “maintains his innocence and will be appealing as soon as possible.”
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