UPDATE Councillor Sorenson has been found NOT guilty of historical sexual offences after a trial lasting a week, and can now get on with his life and with his work for his local area.
Councillor Ashley Sorenson, aged 55, of Thornton, Lancashire, was charged on 17 July 2025 with the rape of a female under 16 and six counts of indecent assault against a female under the age of 14, all serious historical sexual offences.
Serious allegations against the councillor
Cllr. Sorenson, who has represented the Preesall ward in Wyre Council as an Independent since 2023, appeared before Preston Crown Court on 14 August 2025. During this Plea Hearing, Cllr. Sorenson entered a not guilty plea to all seven historical sexual offences with which he has been charged.
Following the Plea Hearing Cllr. Sorenson was unconditionally bailed, and will return to court for a pre-trial review on 26 June 2026, prior to the commencement of his trial, which is set for 17 August 2026.
After communicating with the Crown Prosecution Service, North West Bylines can confirm the alleged incidents are not recent.
Councillors charged even with very serious crimes are not routinely suspended
People on social media sites, and especially on a Wyre Facebook group, have called for the councillor to resign, though other people hope he will be found innocent. However, even after being charged with offences like sexual offenses, councilors are not routinely suspended.
Should councilors be found guilty of any of any offences, like the ones Cllr. Sorenson has been charged with, it is highly likely they will be removed from office. Under Section 80 of the Local Government Act 1972, any councillor in England who receives a custodial sentence of at least three months (13 weeks) – whether it is an actual prison term or suspended – will automatically lose their seat. However, just being charged does not warrant suspension under current law, though there was a petition in 2021 asking for those rules to be changed.
Not the first time this councillor has caused controversy
This is the second time that Cllr. Sorenson has caused a commotion in a Wyre Council meeting. He also disrupted a Wyre Council meeting that occurred in April 2024.
In highly unusual scenes, Cllr. Sorensen was given a warning after he refused to end a controversial speech at Wyre Civic Centre in Poulton, despite several requests to do so. Council business was held up for several minutes as the unexpected drama unfolded. A spokesman for Wyre Council said the councillor’s conduct was “unacceptable” and an investigation is now underway. But Cllr. Sorensen later said his attempts to deal with the council in other ways over his grievances had led to “dead ends”, forcing him to raise the matter at the meeting.
According to those in attendance, Cllr. Sorenson refused to end his speech for which 3 minutes were allocated. When his allotted time was up, he refused to yield, alleging he was the victim of a 13-year campaign of harassment.
This forced Mayor Councillor Julie Robinson, who was chairing the meeting, to suspend the meeting. However, upon the resumption of the meeting Cllr. Sorenson again started to speak, which made Mayor Robinson inform him that the police were on their way to remove him.
There is no record of who may have caused the grievance, or what it was about.
Wyre Council have declined to comment to the LDRS about the sexual abuse charge, stating that the proceedings are “live” and at an early stage
Based on a press release by local democracy reporter Richard Hunt.
