Locations
West Farm Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE6
Description
A Catholic priest who sexually abused two teenage boys at a seminary where he taught has been jailed for 18 years.
Michael Higginbottom, 76, was found guilty by a jury of five counts of serious sexual assault and seven counts of indecent assault following a re-trial.
The boys were abused as they boarded at St Joseph's College, a Catholic seminary in Upholland, Lancashire, which has now closed, in the 1970s and 80s.
During a two-week trial, jurors heard he 'regularly, systematically and horrifically' abused the boys.
Prosecutor David Temkin said: "They were both threatened with violence and both were struck with a strap or a belt."
The Crown Prosecution Service said he breached his position of trust 'in the most horrific way'.
Judge Andrew Woolman, sentencing Higginbottom on Tuesday, told him: "You were in the highest position of trust in relation to these boys, who you abused in a quite appalling way.
"I have no doubt that you specifically targeted these boys.
"These acts were accompanied, time after time, by threats or actual violence under the guise of a normal school punishment.
"The way you acted left them with a sense of shame and of guilt, as well as the sense that no-one would believe them if they complained."
The first victim came forward to police in 2016 to report he had suffered mental, physical and sexual abuse by Higginbottom between 1978 and 1979.
The second victim saw a TV news report on the initial trial in 2017 and recognised the priest because he sexually abused him too in the mid-1980s, the CPS said.
The boys did not attend the college at the same time and do not know each other.
But the CPS said they gave evidence of having suffered similar experiences when they were around the same age in Higginbottom's private quarters.
Wendy Chappell, a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Michael Higginbottom carried out a series of violent sexual assaults, often using a belt to threaten or hit them if the boys were not compliant.
"He carried out the offences whilst in a position of trust within the school and the community as a priest and a teacher, which he breached in the most horrific way.
"Through the case Higginbottom described the allegations as 'total lies' and claimed he did not remember either of the boys.
"However, after we presented the overwhelming evidence against him before the court, the jury found him unanimously guilty of all the charges he faced.
"I would like to pay tribute to the two victims for their immense courage in coming forward and re-living their traumatic experiences by giving evidence against their abuser, with the first victim having to re-live it a second time at the re-trial.
"I hope that following todays sentence that they will be able to find some closure.
Higginbottom, from Newcastle, denied all the charges he faced.
But after the re-trial at Burnley Crown Court, he was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault and seven counts of indecent assault in relation to the first victim, and one count of sexual assault in relation to the second victim.
Both victims can't be named for legal reasons.
The CPS said Higginbottom had originally been convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in 2017 of the offences in relation to the first victim, but faced a re-trial after they were quashed on appeal.
The re-trial included an additional charge in relation to the second victim.
Detective Sergeant Stephen Ollerton, of Lancashire Police, said: "This abuse has had a devastating effect on these boys throughout their now-adult lives and for many years."
The court heard Higginbottom would serve half his sentence in prison and half out on licence.