Conor McGrath, 29, admitted having 77 category A images (Image: Stevenage Borough Council/LDRS)
A former aide to a Labour MP has been spared jail after downloading more than 500 indecent images of children. Conor McGrath, 29, was a borough councillor in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, between 2023 and 2025 and also worked for MP Kevin Bonavia. He has condemned the McGrath’s “sickening criminality”.
The defendant was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on Friday (April 17) to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children at a different court last month. He admitted having 77 category A images, 109 category B images and 329 category C images and videos between June 2024 and March 2025.
READ MORE: Staggering number of prisoners let out by mistake revealed in new justice crisis
READ MORE: Labour votes to scrap jury trials – but backbench MPs rebel against David Lammy
Judge Jonathan Mann KC told him: “If you find your way back to me for offences of this type… I will revoke that order and off to prison you will go.”
McGrath, dressed in a dark suit with a red tie, wiped the corner of his eye as he stood in the dock at the end of his sentencing.
The court heard he has lost his political career and feels ashamed he has let down the people who elected him as councillor.
Police arrested McGrath at his home on March 25 last year on an unrelated matter and seized several devices, including his iPhone and iPad.
While he was released under investigation, he met a colleague at a pub and told them that he was worried police would find “rude photographs” on his devices and think he was a paedophile, the court heard.
He also told his then-colleague that he had deleted or tried to delete images on his devices.
A referral was made after that meeting to Scotland Yard’s Parliamentary Diplomatic Protection Command and officers carried out a second search and seizure at McGrath’s home.
Police eventually found indecent images on the iPhone and iPad they seized in the original search.
David Claxton, defending, said his client felt “genuine remorse” and had taken it upon himself to start therapy to understand what motivated him, after childhood trauma.
He said: “One of the aspects of his shame is that he feels he has let down the people who elected him. That is something he will have to live with.”
Mr Claxton said McGrath has faced “public shame”, adding: “He has lost the career that he had. He has no realistic prospect of resuming work in politics or adjacent to politics.”
In his sentencing remarks, the judge referred to the conclusion of the pre-sentence report which found McGrath had partial insight into his offending which was continuing to develop.
After sentencing, Mr Bonavia said: “I am pleased that Conor McGrath has been sentenced for his truly appalling crimes today. There aren’t words to express the horror I felt upon being made aware of this sickening criminality.
“As soon as I was made aware of the allegations facing Mr McGrath, I immediately took action to ensure the information was brought to the attention of the authorities and his employment was terminated immediately upon his arrest. I have not had any contact with him since.
“My thoughts today are with the victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. We must continue to do all we can to rid this vile scourge from our society and anyone found guilty of committing such abhorrent crimes must face the full force of the law.”
Stevenage’s Labour MP Kevin Bonavia says he is glad McGrath has been sentenced (Image: Crown Copyright)
He thanked police and the justice system for pursuing the case.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “It is right that Conor McGrath has been sentenced for these heinous crimes.
“The Labour Party took swift action to suspend Mr McGrath as soon as these allegations came to our attention. He is no longer a member of the Labour Party.”
Claire Beards from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The volume and nature of the indecent images that McGrath collected and stored showed his sustained and unlawful sexual interest in children.
“Some of the images were among the most serious and disturbing for which a person can be prosecuted. Anyone who downloads, stores or shares indecent images of children contributes directly to their abuse and exploitation.
“We are committed to working with the police to safeguard children from sexual harm and to prosecute those who commit these appalling offences.”
As well as his suspended jail sentence, McGrath was ordered to complete 25 days of rehabilitation activity requirement and 150 hours of unpaid work. He will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.