Ex-teacher jailed for abusing boy in own bedroom

A former teacher who sexually attacked an 11-year-old boy in his own bedroom more than 50 years ago has been jailed.

David Crowther, 83, assaulted the child as his parents relaxed downstairs at their home in Leeds in the 1970s.

Crowther, of Oakdale Crescent in Huddersfield, was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault and one charge of inciting a child under 14 to commit an act of gross indecency following a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Det Sgt Emma Maltas said the victim had endured a terrifying ordeal which left a "traumatic impact" on the rest of his life.

The victim contacted police in 2021 after seeing media coverage of Crowther's previous convictions for abusing children, according to West Yorkshire Police.

He was jailed for 28 months on Tuesday, following September's guilty verdict.

Det Sgt Maltas, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "Crowther committed a huge betrayal of trust while visiting the victim's home, sexually abusing him in his own bedroom while his parents were downstairs."

"We hope that the victim will gain some sense of closure from knowing Crowther has now been brought to justice for the harm his actions did to him, both at the time and over the years that followed," she added.

Crowther's previous convictions included five counts of indecent assault against children between 1973 and 1975 when he was a teacher in Leeds, police said.

In 2019 he was jailed for abusing two teenage boys who he befriended at a choir in the 1980s, the force added.

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