Former DUP councillor avoids jail in child sex case

By Rebecca Black, PA

DUP politician Edwin Poots has requested an appeal is launched against the “leniency” of a sentence handed to a former party colleague who was convicted of child sex offences.

William Walker, a former DUP Down district councillor, admitted two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child.

The 60-year-old avoided a prison term and was sentenced on Thursday at Downpatrick Crown Court to 100 hours community service and three years’ probation.

I have contacted the Public Prosecution Service and Attorney Generals office today asking for the lenient sentence handed down to Billy Walker to be appealed.
A man in his 50s grooming teenagers is perverse,sickening and unacceptable.
The punishment must be increased

— Edwin Poots (@edwinpootsmla) June 23, 2023

Mr Walker was suspended from the DUP in 2022 after his arrest, and has since resigned from the party.

He served as a chairman of the former Down District Council and was also a representative on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council which replaced it.

Mr Poots tweeted on Friday that he has contacted Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and the Attorney General Brenda King’s office asking for the “lenient sentence handed down to Billy Walker” to be appealed against.

“A man in his 50s grooming teenagers is perverse, sickening and unacceptable,” Mr Poots said. “The punishment must be increased”.