Hargreaves had been convicted of eight charges of abuse including one charge of attempted rape which date back to the early 1990s when he ran a butcher's shop. He told a young girl he would poison her family's meat if she did not allow him to abuse her at his shop. He was not arrested until 2002 when the woman, still suffering under the strain of having been abused at such a young age, tracked him down and contacted police. His crimes were committed against the young girl and one of her schoolfriends, both then aged between 11 and 12.

During a ten-day trial, Bradford Crown Court heard how Hargreaves, a former school governor, molested the girls in the back of a butcher’s shop in the early 1990s and would give the girls £3 after touching them. The court was told that the abuse started when Hargreaves, of Buttermere Road, Bolton, Bradford, made one of the girls, who were both then aged about 11, perform a sex act on him. He paid her £3 and told her not to tell anybody. Prosecutor Sharon Beattie said the next time this happened Hargreaves indecently assaulted her. Miss Beattie told the jury that the abuse continued and Hargreaves started saying to her "Next time we will go a bit further on to better things". The girl brought a friend with her because she was scared that Hargreaves would try to have sex with her, but Hargreaves then began abusing the second girl as well and gave them money. The court was told that the abuse came to an end when Hargreaves tried to rape the first girl. He had put £20 down and said to the girls "Who’s going to be first?".

Hargreaves was questioned by police in 1994 when similar allegations were made against him. Although he was prosecuted, the case never went to trial. Hargreaves denied the allegations and claimed the first girl was blackmailing him.

Judge Roger Scott jailed Hargreaves for five years on the charge of attempted rape and passed concurrent prison sentences of three and two years respectively for the four offences of indecent assault and three of indecency with a child.

Hargreaves had been cleared by the jury at his trial on three further allegations of indecency with a child and two of indecent assault.

Passing sentence Judge Scott said it was a seriously aggravating feature of the case that victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, were aged about 11 and 12 at the time of the offences. Judge Scott also indicated that the offences fell into the category where the starting point for the sentence after a trial was eight years in jail. However he was reducing the term because the final offence had been an attempted rape and he also had to take account of Hargreaves' age and poor health.

Hargreaves, who lived with his common-law wife in Buttermere Road, Bolton, Bradford, had lodged an appeal which was dismissed, and his full sentence was upheld.

Hargreaves was sacked by the Liberal Democrat group when he was convicted after the trial at the Crown Court in November 2006, but he refused to resign as a councillor for the Bolton and Undercliffe ward.

Normally the length of sentence would mean he is automatically disqualified from serving on the Council but was allowed to stay pending the appeal decision.