David Crowther

David Crowther, a former teacher with a long history of child sexual abuse, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on 14 January 2025 for offences committed over 50 years earlier. The 83-year-old from Huddersfield was found guilty following a trial of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency and two counts of indecent assault against an 11-year-old boy in Leeds during the early 1970s.

The abuse occurred in 1972 when Crowther was invited to the victim's family home by the boy's parents, who hoped their son would be accepted into the schools where Crowther taught. While the parents were downstairs, Crowther took the boy alone into his bedroom and sexually assaulted him by putting his hands down the boy's trousers. He then returned downstairs as if nothing had happened, leaving the victim traumatised and silent about the incident for decades.

The victim only came forward in 2021 after reading news reports that Crowther had been jailed for abusing other boys in the 1980s. This prompted him to report the abuse to the police, demonstrating what the judge described as 'tremendous courage'. Recorder Richard Thyne KC, during sentencing, stated he was 'quite satisfied' that Crowther's motives in going to the boy's room were 'not completely innocent'. The judge also reassured the victim, who felt guilty for not speaking up sooner and believed he could have prevented further abuse, that he had 'nothing to feel guilty about'.

Crowther's criminal history included a previous conviction in 2019, when he was sentenced to three years and seven months' imprisonment for sexually abusing two teenage boys he had befriended through a choir in the 1980s. He had also been convicted of five indecent assaults on children between 1973 and 1975 while working as a teacher in Leeds. For the 1972 offences, he received a 28-month custodial sentence.

Tragically, Crowther died on 31 January 2025, just 17 days after beginning his sentence at HMP Leeds, from sepsis of unknown cause. A report by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, published recently, confirmed that the clinical care he received in prison was of a good standard. The case was reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post on 19 November 2025, highlighting the long-overdue justice for the victim.