Village butcher abused girls more than 50 years ago

A village butcher who used his standing as a respectable local businessman to "pretend to be a decent person" has been jailed for sexually abusing two girls more than 50 years ago.

John Priestley was reported to Lancashire Police in 2022 by one of his victims, a woman who was 11 when he first indecently assaulted her in the village of Croston near Chorley, in the early 1970s.

One of the women he abused told a trial at Preston Crown Court the abuse she suffered "enters my head almost every day" and has affected her entire life.

The 83-year-old from Leyland denied the offences but was found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault and was sentenced to three years and six months in jail.

Priestley's second victim, who was 13 at the time when she was assaulted, came forward after police began their investigation.

The butcher denied any wrongdoing during a interview with police, who later consulted with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Priestley was then summonsed to court and pleaded not guilty before a jury convicted him of the seven counts of indecent assault.

The court heard a statement from one of the victims who said: "One of the worst things about this abuse is the way it affected my ability to bring up my children and how it has affected my relationship with my husband.

"I made decisions about the children that I wouldn't have made if I had never been abused."

"I am a victim of John Priestley and as a result my husband, my children and my grandchildren are also victims. I can never put the abuse out of my head."

Det Con Will Hogan said: "Priestley's victims have had to live for more than 50 years with the harrowing effects of the crimes he committed, before they had the courage to report them.

"Priestley used his good standing as a village businessman to make himself seem like a good person – he is not.

"He pretended to be a member of the local community, someone who was known around the village as a decent person, all while he was sexually abusing young girls."

Priestly was also placed on sex offender's register when he was sentenced on Monday.

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