Former Labour councillor caught in undercover police sting after sending explicit video to decoy child
Liron Velleman was in contact with a police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl
A former Labour councillor was caught in an undercover police sting after he sent an explicit video to who he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
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Liron Velleman sent messages to the "girl" online in which he asked to see her in her pyjamas and bra, and also sent a video of his penis.
The 30-year-old, who previously worked for anti-racism group Hope Not Hate and was a Labour councillor for Barnet at the time, sent the messages under the username of "Tim Graham 95".
Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court heard that unbeknown to Velleman, he was actually communicating with an undercover officer from the Metropolitan Police.
Prosecutor Zahid Hussain told the court that Velleman sent messages asking to see the girl in her school uniform, asking how old she was and if she was at home alone, MyLondon reports.
He sent a video of his penis to the decoy, and also sent images including one of him fully clothed, one of him topless and another of him in his boxers.
Velleman later asked her to open her dressing gown and sent a message which said "I want to see what’s underneath".
He previously pleaded guilty to 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, which happened in December 2024.
Wearing a white shirt and a tie in the dock, he spoke only to confirm his name and personal details during the hearing.
Velleman was elected as a Labour councillor for the borough of Barnet in May 2022 but resigned in April 2025 without explanation.
A profile still active on the Open Council Network website lists Vellemman as being part of multiple groups, including the Children and Education Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee.
Mr Hussain added: "At the material time he was a Labour councillor, so he was in a position of trust and responsibility, and he engaged in this criminal conduct."
The court heard there were 21 pages of messages that police accessed after his phone was seized.
Velleman, of Finchley, north London, will be sentenced at Harlow Crown Court at a later date.
Ali Hussain, defending, said he accepted that the court’s powers were constrained but there was "substantial mitigation" which would be heard at the Crown Court.