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Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Catholic Bradford, Huddersfield and Settle, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom · 2026

United Kingdom: priest already serving 18 years jailed a further 8.5 years for more parish sex offences against boys

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

Catholic priest, St William's RC Church (Bradford), Our Lady of Lourdes (Huddersfield), St Mary's and St Michael's (Settle)

Organization

St William's RC Church, Bradford, Our Lady of Lourdes, Huddersfield, St Mary's and St Michael's, Settle

Spiritual nexus

David Leslie Crowley was a Catholic priest at three successive Yorkshire parishes between 1979 and 1993, using his position to abuse boys at each posting; the diocese moved him between parishes rather than removing him from ministry.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority
  • Institutional obedience or isolation

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2026-06-19 · guilty plea and sentence

    Leeds Crown Court, England. Pleaded guilty to a further 15 offences against boys; sentenced to an additional 8.5 years, extended by 2 years, consecutive to an existing 18-year sentence for 13 similar offences committed 1979-1985.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • parish-priest access to boys across three successive Yorkshire parishes
  • decades-long pattern spanning 1979-1993 across multiple postings

Primary record

Sources

regional newspaper court reporting criminal disposition YorkshireLive, 'Sick and evil Huddersfield priest jailed for even longer for sexually abusing kids' (Jun. 2026).

Court report confirming the Leeds Crown Court guilty plea, additional 8.5-year sentence, and the three parishes involved.

Related record

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