Convicted rapist Daryll Pitcher has finally resigned from the Isle of Wight Council, giving up his £8,832 a year councillor role.
It was back in April that Pitcher was sentenced to 27 months in prison – and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years – for 2 historic child rapes which took place over 30 years ago.
Pitcher, of Norman Way in Wootton, was found guilty on 2 counts of rape by a jury at the Isle of Wight Crown Court back in February.
However, despite his conviction and subsequent prison sentence, the Isle of Wight Council did not have the power to remove him from elected office, unless he became statutorily disqualified under the Local Government Act – which hasn’t happened due to a conviction appeal lodged by the 46-year-old.
It means that until now Pitcher has, technically, continued to represent the people of Wootton Bridge, where he was elected in 2021.
However, it has now been confirmed that Daryll Pitcher has handed in his resignation to the local authority. It was delivered to County Hall yesterday afternoon (Wednesday).
A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight Council has told Island Echo:
“The Monitoring Officer has received written notice of the resignation of Cllr Daryll Pitcher which took effect from the delivery of that notice yesterday afternoon.
Article continues below this advertisement “The council is therefore now in the process of making arrangements for a by-election for the division (ward) of Wootton Bridge, and will confirm such arrangements as soon as possible”.
Should he really have to hand in his resignation …..surly it should have been a sacking ,, who really would want THAT in charge of anything ….
Spot on. Disgusting brute should leave the Isle for good
the only reason he got a guilty verdict was because they believed the story of a woman who couldn’t remember half the details, rather than him.
no actual evidence was ever submitted.
he could actually be innocent and be serving time due to a miscarriage of justice for all we know.
You are a rapist apologist, island is full of them. Go learn a bit about the rape statistics and grow out of your own internalised misogyny you idiot, we all do at some point
Rapist apologist, amatuer dramatics. Within his comment i saw no indication that it was misogynistic nor did it depict any lack of empathy towards rape victims but rather a statement of fact, there was no evidence other than a correlation of dates when they were at school together so your comment is poisonous and reductive. What shocks me is the way societal thinking is going, which is on par with your comment; anyone who defends a rapist is a rapist themselves, NO! And he wasnt even defending him just pointing out that a man can be innocent… Your comment also lacks understanding that people do suffer miscarriage of justice which is what the person was trying to say…
grape victim – please provide your evidence that the island is full of rapist apologists.
I cannot help but notice that your comments are akin to someone standing with a pitchfork out at the peak of the witch trials in the UK between the years 1640 and the 1650’s, shouting…
was there at the time – must be a rapist
was there at the time and denies it – must be a lying rapist.
she consented – must have been forced consent – he is a rapist
could be innocent, nah who cares, need to satisfy the blood lust – hang/burn/drown
grape victim – also – I think you need to grow out of your own internalised hatred of men – after all, it is on full display in your comments.
These are strange comments and I’m aghast at the lack of empathy/sympathy for the victim of this horrendous crime. Of course there are miscarriages of justice and we have a mechanism to address these anomalies. A convicted person needs to seek permission to appeal a conviction, sentence or both; this is quite a hurdle to overcome when the case has been heard over a sustained period and adjudged by a jury of one’s peers that has sat through every second of the case. Trial by jury lies at the heart of our legal system and any appeal will need to be very strong to overcome a jury verdict. Furthermore, the success rate of cases being referred back to the Court of Appeal is approximately 3%, of which, about two thirds will be successful.
A conviction should automatically mean he cannot serve …..
Hope he also loses his rights to any council pension….
What council pension? Your name is obviously not very apt as you still don’t understand that councillors are not employed by the council! Therefore they are not part of the council pension scheme
He is in jail so cannot fulfill his role as a councillor. There is a minimum attendance requirement.