A COUNCILLOR who has admitted sexually abusing a teenage boy has resigned.

Peter McLaughlin, a former chairman of Stanley Town Council, continued serving as a councillor despite the ongoing case against him.

The 61-year-old initially denied indecently assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the early 1990s but earlier this week pleaded guilty to two counts at Carlisle Crown Court.

They date back around 20 years to when he was working as a coach driver in Carlisle, travelling all over Britain and Europe.

McLaughlin, of Stanley, County Durham, was first charged last summer and protested his innocence throughout two trials. The first was abandoned after a witness fell ill while the jury in the second failed to reach a verdict.

However, McLaughlin finally admitted his guilt on Tuesday and is to be sentenced on January 2.

He quit as a town councillor on Wednesday after learning that a meeting had been called by fellow councillors to demand his resignation.

In an email to acting clerk Derek Shingleton, McLaughlin said: “In the light of recent developments I have decided to resign my position with immediate effect.

“I decided to remain an active member of the town council to continue to support my ward to the best of my ability and to support the bigger ventures of the town council. I wish the council well in the future.”

Mr Shingleton said the process to elect a replacement for the Stanley Hall ward will begin shortly.

He said: “Peter McLaughlin submitted his resignation as a councillor on Stanley Town Council, with immediate effect. This has been accepted by the council.”

It has also emerged the council voted against the introduction of criminal record checks for members in January, while McLaughlin, of Murray Park, Stanley, was awaiting retrial.

Councillor Darren McMahon, a youth worker with Stanley Youth Centre, who supported the introduction of the DBS checks, which replaced Criminal Record Bureau checks, said: “Councillors are in a position of power and responsibility. It is a good idea and it works."

In July, Mr Shingleton submitted a further report suggesting DBS checks be introduced on a voluntary basis.

He said: “This was unanimously agreed and the forms are in the process of being completed and checked.

“In the light of recent events, I intend to contact all members to ensure that they if they haven’t already completed a form, they should seriously consider doing so.”