Velleman, ex-Labour councillor for Barnet in North London sent indecent pictures of his genitals to what he thought was a 13 year old girl, but instead he was communicating with a undercover police officer. After sending the 'girl' a pictures of himself he asked her to send him a picture of her wearing her school uniform. It was actually during Vellemans tenure as a Labour councillor when the offences took place.
Velleman, of Finchley, north London, used the handle 'Tim Graham 95' to send the messages, Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court heard. Unbeknownst to him, he was actually in contact with a decoy officer from the Metropolitan Police. Liron Velleman, 30, was a councillor for Barnet in north London when the offences happened between 3 and 10 December 2024. He resigned in April 2025 without explanation.
The prosecutor asked for the case to be committed to the Crown Court for sentencing as he said it was too serious to be dealt with at the magistrates' court.
Prosecutor Zahid Hussain told the court on Tuesday that Velleman sent online messages asking to see the girl in her school uniform, how old she was and if she was at home alone. He sent a video of his penis and asked to see her in her underwear.
Velleman previously pleaded guilty to two charges, one of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and another of attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to look at an image of sexual activity.
Velleman's solicitor, Ali Hussain, said there was 'substantial mitigation' that would be heard at sentencing. Velleman was freed on bail with the condition not to be in the company of someone under the age of 18 without supervision from another adult.
Outcome:
During sentencing Velleman was given just an eight month prison sentence suspended for fifteen months, and put on the child sex offenders register for ten months. The mitigating circumstances mentioned above was apparently due to the loss of his promising political career.
During investigations it was found that Velleman was also a member of the Left Wing Extremist group 'Hope not Hate' meaning that he is another one on the sex offenders register with affiliation with the group. It is thought that due to his affiliation with this group that the judge had shown leniency towards Velleman.