MAN ABUSED GIRLS MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO
A village butcher who exploited his reputation as a respected community businessman to present himself as a morally upright individual has been sentenced to prison for sexually abusing two girls over five decades ago.John Priestley was reported to Lancashire Police in 2022 by one of his victims, a woman who was just 11 years old when he first indecently assaulted her in Croston, a village near Chorley, during the early 1970s.
During a trial at Preston Crown Court, one of the women described how the abuse she endured "enters my head almost every day" and has had a lasting impact on her life.
Priestley, aged 83 and from Leyland, denied the allegations, but was convicted on seven counts of indecent assault.
He received a sentence of three years and six months in prison.
The second victim, 13 at the time of her abuse, came forward after police launched their investigation.
Initially, Priestley denied any misconduct during a police interview, but authorities consulted with the Crown Prosecution Service.
He was subsequently summoned to court, where he pleaded not guilty.
However, a jury found him guilty 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.
