Child-rape mayor’s portrait finally taken off town hall’s wall
ACOUNCIL has finally removed a portrait of a paedophile former mayor hanging in its town hall – 18 months after he was convicted of rape.
The photograph of child rapist David Boswell, 60, was displayed in a gallery with other former mayors in the town hall.
But the council has been criticised for failing to remove the portrait of Boswell when he was convicted of abusing two young girls.
The picture of Boswell, a former mayor of Pembroke, was still hanging in the town hall until days ago. It was taken down after protests but council chiefs have yet to decide whether or not the portrait will be permanently removed.
Pembroke resident Marcel Laval said: “I find it disgusting that Pembroke Town Council are convinced they should hang a portrait of their convicted paedophile ex-mayor Dai Boswell in a place of honour alongside other former mayors to be admired by the public.”
A spokesman for Pembroke Town Council said: “The picture has been taken down already pending final decision by council at the next meeting.”
Pembroke councillor John Harvey said: “If the photograph has been taken down this is a good start. A decision will need to be taken by full council whether it is permanently removed or not.
“Given the understandable public outcry my preference would be to have a decision made via an extraordinary meeting of council rather than wait until the next meeting.”
Former soldier and lorry driver Boswell raped and indecently assaulted one of the schoolgirls and indecently assaulted the other.
Boswell denied the allegations, saying they were “complete lies”, and urged police to make him undergo a lie detector test.
But a jury at Swansea Crown Court found him guilty of three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape. He was jailed for 18 years. In November his bid to challenge his convictions was rejected by senior judges.
Boswell, who served in the army for more than 12 years and was a marshal for the Royal British Legion, was the serving mayor of Pembroke when he was charged in August 2018.
The then-Conservative councillor had won the Pembroke St Mary North election just three months earlier by six votes.
Boswell, from Pembroke Dock, was suspended from the Conservative Party after he was charged and stepped down from his mayoral duties.