Aberdeen sexual assault councillor hearing date set for October

Alan Donnelly resisted calls to quit after his conviction

A hearing to decide if an Aberdeen councillor convicted of sexual assault should be disqualified from office will be held in October.

Former depute provost Alan Donnelly was found guilty in December and placed on the sex offenders register.

He resigned from the Tories but resisted calls to stand down from the council.

The possible sanctions include censure, suspension of up to one year or disqualification.

The Standards Commission Scotland hearing will be held in the council chambers.

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During the trial, Donnelly had denied kissing and touching a man who was working at an event in the city.

However, he was found guilty and ordered to pay compensation.

He was previously part of the ruling Conservative, Labour and independent administration.

Donnelly was given an interim suspension from the council in March, initially for three months but it was then extended.

A panel of commission members concluded that a renewal of the suspension was both "proportionate and in the public interest". A review will take place no later than 3 September.