Former teacher who sexually assaulted boy 11 in his own bedroom jailed for 28 months

Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Tuesday, 14th January 2025, at 14:00hrs

The former teacher has also previously been found guilty of indecently assaulting teenage boys in the 1970s

A former teacher who sexually abused an 11-year-old boy while visiting his home in Leeds has been jailed following an investigation by safeguarding officers.

David Crowther had visited the boy’s house in the early 1970s as his parents were hoping to send him to the school where Crowther taught. 

During the visit, he got the boy alone in his bedroom while his parents were downstairs and sexually assaulted him. Crowther then returned downstairs as if nothing had happened.

The victim felt unable to report the incident at the time but contacted police in 2021 after searching online and finding media coverage of Crowther being convicted of child sex offences.

He had been sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment in 2019 for sexually abusing two teenage boys he had befriended through a choir in the 1980s.

Crowther, now aged 83, of Oakdale Crescent, Huddersfield, had also previously been convicted of five indecent assaults on children between 1973 and 1975 while a teacher in Leeds. 

Officers from Leeds District Safeguarding Unit launched an investigation that resulted in Crowther being charged with inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency and two indecent assaults against the 11-year-old boy. 

He was found guilty following a trial at Leeds Crown Court in September. 

Today, he was sentenced to 28 months in prison.

Detective Sergeant Emma Maltas, of Leeds District Safeguarding, 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. 

“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young boy to endure at the time and was something that had a lasting traumatic impact on him that he has had to carry with him throughout his adult life. 

“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. 

“West Yorkshire Police will always treat any allegations of this nature seriously, and we hope that the successful outcome of this investigation will give other victims of similar offences the confidence to come forward knowing they will be listened to and supported.”