While his legal matters haven't concluded, the charge against him been reduced

Vagramov says he is assuming all duties as a mayor, except those at the police board

PORT MOODY (NEWS 1130) — Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov is back on the job as of Monday morning, after going on leave earlier this year when he was charged with sexual assault.

In a press conference Monday afternoon, Vagramov says he is assuming all duties as a mayor, except those at the police board. While his legal matters haven’t concluded, the charge against him has been reduced.

“What was initially pursued as quite a scary indictment has since been starkly reduced to a summary matter with the crown and my legal council now exploring a resolution that would not involve a trial,” he says.

Summary judgments are meant to deal with cases where it is clear one party cannot win because they have no case or defence. It is still unclear what the result of the judgement will be.

Port Moody mayor Rob Vagramov says the indictable offence of sexual assault has been reduced to a “summary matter”. A summary offence is also known as a “petty crime.” He is scheduled to be in court September 12 but won’t give any further details. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/VSLdme0UAD — Lauren Boothby (@laurby) September 9, 2019



Vagramov says he originally left his role to contest the charge against him and work on his defence, and “now the heavy lifting has been done,” allowing him to return.

“From this point forward, this process should no longer require the level of involvement and attention that it once did. As such, I no longer require the leave granted to me from my responsibilities at city hall,” he says.

Vagramov will appear in court Thursday.

He won’t say if the charges are still against him or not. He said it was moved to a “summary matter” but won’t explain what that means. He won’t confirm or not he will be in court this month. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/mBoiGo8ltI — Lauren Boothby (@laurby) September 9, 2019

The mayor had opted to stop collecting his salary until his case concluded, the acting mayor confirmed in June.

Vagramov was charged in connection with a woman’s claim about an incident that happened in 2015, and has maintained his innocence.

He has been off the job since the end of March, and stepped away from his role on the police board.

With Files from Jim Bennie