A special prosecutor has approved a charge of sexual assault against Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov after an investigation that began Dec. 17, 2018.
According to a press release from the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) Thursday, the alleged assault occurred in Coquitlam in 2015.
Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov. Tri-City News file photo.
Michael Klein QC was appointed special prosecutor late last year under section 7 of the Crown Counsel Act because of the nature of the complaint and the identity of the accused as an elected municipal official.
Klein is a senior Vancouver lawyer in private practice who had been given a mandate to provide legal advice to the RCMP investigators, conduct any related charge assessment and assume conduct of the prosecution if charges are approved.
Vagramov, 26, whose charge is under section 271 of the Criminal Code, is scheduled to make his first appearance in Port Coquitlam provincial court April 25.
According to a BCPS statement, the announcement of a special prosecutor was postponed while the investigation took place but has been revealed now that charges have been approved.
Vagramov is serving the first term as mayor of Port Moody, having won a hotly-contested election in October 2018.
