Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov, who took a leave of absence in March after being charged with sexual assault, is back on the job.
Vagramov told reporters on Monday afternoon that “what was initially pursued as a scary indictment, has since been starkly reduced to a summary matter with Crown, and my legal counsel is now exploring a resolution that would not involve a trial at all.”
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Vancouver lawyer Kyla Lee said that an offence handled as a summary matter carries far lighter penalties than those treated by the Crown as indictable offences.
“In a circumstance like this, it’s likely if there was a sexual assault charge, it’s being reduced down to maybe a simple assault or maybe proceeding as a peace bond, essentially a court-imposed restraining order,” Lee said, adding that a plea to a lesser charge would also likely occur on Thursday when Vagramov is scheduled to appear in Port Coquitlam provincial court.
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