John Michael Creagh

John Michael Creagh, a 79-year-old former priest from Douglas Drive, Orrell, Wigan, was sentenced to four years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on 3 May 2016 for sexually abusing three boys during his time as a scoutmaster in the 1970s. Creagh, who was in his late 30s at the time of the offences, admitted to five counts of indecent assault committed against scouts at the 37th Ormskirk St Annes Scout Group. The abuses came to light only last year, prompting his prosecution decades after the incidents occurred.

The court heard detailed accounts of Creagh's predatory behaviour, which exploited his position of trust as scoutmaster. Judge Norman Wright described the acts as a 'gross breach of trust', noting that Creagh was 'charged with the welfare of the young scouts in your care and you totally abused that position' for his 'own selfish sexual desires'. Creagh had been a 'highly regarded individual within the community' and 'ingratiated himself' into the children's families, making the betrayal all the more profound.

• In the first incident, Creagh grabbed a boy inappropriately over his clothing while they were alone in a scout hut. He then repeatedly assaulted the boy at his home in St Helens Road, Ormskirk, after showing him pornographic magazines. The victim, now an adult, told the court that 'although some 40 years ago, there has hardly been a day when he hasn’t thought about the times when this defendant did this to him' and did not report it initially as he feared he would not be believed.
• With the second boy, Creagh took him on a camping trip to Wales under the pretence that other children would join, but they ended up alone in a tent. Creagh, who had brought pornography, asked the boy 'whether he was a bad boy' before sexually assaulting him. The terrified victim spent the night wrapped in his sleeping bag, fending off advances, but felt too embarrassed to disclose the abuse.
• The third boy was groomed by Creagh with gifts such as records and trips to the cinema, leading to an assault. This pattern of manipulation highlighted Creagh's deliberate targeting of vulnerable children.

Creagh's history of sexual offences extended beyond the scout group. After leaving Ormskirk, he was ordained as a priest and became deputy house master at Douai Abbey School, a Roman Catholic boarding school in Reading, Berkshire, run by Benedictine monks. In 1992, he received a nine-month prison sentence for gross indecency and two counts of indecent assault after abusing a 12-year-old boy there in similar circumstances. Following that conviction, the church sent him on an eight-month residential sex offenders course. His defence, represented by David Watson, claimed Creagh's remorse was genuine, supported by those close to him, including his boyfriend present in the public gallery.

In addition to the four-year custodial sentence, Judge Wright imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and required Creagh to register on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely. Speaking after the sentencing, DC Catherine Thomas from Lancashire Constabulary described the abuses as 'appalling sexual abuse' inflicted on the boys. The case was reported by the Southport Visiter on 3 May 2016, drawing attention to the long-term impact of such historic child sex offences.