Remember me
An former Labour councillor has denied telling a sexual assault victim not to tell the police about what happened to her. The woman, who was attacked by notorious rapist and killer Ronald Evans, 85, in 2022, described how his eyes "glistened" and turned "black" during the lead up to the incident. The predator had spent 50 years in jail for killing 21-year-old Kathleen Heathcote in 1963, and committing multiple sex offences between 1977 and 1979 in Bristol.
He was released in 2018, whereupon, he moved to London. In 2022, he coerced a woman into going to his flat, where he groped her after admitting to killing Ms Heathcote, which he claimed was accidental, after covering her mouth to stop her from screaming. In 2023, Evans was once again imprisoned for his latest attack.
The victim met Evans at an event run by then-Labour councillor Kathleen Fraser, who provided a character witness and a defence statement in support of the sex offender during his trial. The woman later filed a complaint against Fraser to the Labour Party in January 2024. In May 2025, Ms Fraser was appointed as Deputy Mayor of Brent.
She was suspended from Labour in June that year – 18 months after Evan’s latest victim raised her concern with the party – before being expelled nine months later on March 18 this year.
The victim alleged that Cllr Fraser, who now sits as an independent at Brent Council, told her: "Don't report it to the police; I'll deal with it. Leave it with me. I don't want you to be further bruised by their negative response."
She purportedly pleaded with the councillor to report the incident to the police, but she "refused" to and carried out a "hate vendetta" against the victim whilst "protecting" Evans.
Fraser "tried to silence" the woman, she claimed.
She added: "I got home. I told my neighbour about it, told my friends about it. Then I told Kathleen something terrible had happened to me."
The woman added that she "believed in her", and, as she was the victim of sexual assualt, and Fraser was a woman, she expected her to support her, and give her a hug and say, "Oh, God... that's awful."
"Saving that," she added, "do your job and be impartial.
"Ban him from attending, [encourage] me to report it to the police."
She trusted Fraser and so took her advice, Evans's victim said.
The woman wrote in a witness statement to the Labour Party: "Through sheer persistence, and with absolutely no help from those in authority who should’ve intervened on my behalf, I sent Ronald Evans back behind bars unable to reoffend and attack any further women.
"Kathleen Fraser is unfit for the office of Labour Councillor and is unfit to represent the public interest. Her behaviour and demeanour during this whole affair was wholly inappropriate.
"She is not the selfless person that a good councillor should aspire to be, but is self-serving and only considers her own interests."
Cllr Fraser told The Express: "I take any allegation of this nature extremely seriously. In July 2022, when [the victim] spoke to me, I encouraged her to seek appropriate support in reporting the matter to the police. I did not discourage her from contacting the police at any time.
"At that stage, I understood that the incident described had taken place outside of any community activity I was involved in, and I was not aware of the individual’s background or any relevant restrictions. As such, I did not have the authority or information required to take formal action beyond encouraging the matter to be reported.
"Once the matter was reported, I fully cooperated with the police investigation and provided a formal statement. I later attended court when called as a witness and gave evidence to assist the judicial process.
"Throughout, my focus has been on encouraging appropriate reporting, supporting those involved, and acting responsibly within the limits of my role in the community.
"Given that this matter has been subject to a criminal process, I am not able to comment further on specific details."
The Labour Party told the victim on April 1 that her complaint was considered by the National Constitutional Committee (NCC) at a hearing on March 18.
It added: "Following that hearing, the NCC determined that the allegations were upheld and that the appropriate outcome is that Cllr Fraser be expelled from membership of the Labour Party.
"Cllr Fraser has been informed of the outcome this afternoon.
"The case is now closed and we want to thank you for your patience during this process."
In a statement dated March 17, Cllr Fraser announced her decision to quit the Labour Party with immediate effect.
The victim described the councillor as "someone who jumped before they were pushed".