David Higgins, a predatory paedophile, back behind bars

David Higgins, a predatory paedophile who used to work and live at Knowl View School in Rochdale, and was convicted in 2002 of abusing young boys at the school, is back behind bars after being convicted of the multiple rape and sex offences of a young boy whilst he was a teacher at a school in Leeds.

He was jailed for 14 years after being convicted of seven serious sex offences by a jury at Leeds Crown Court.

Higgins, 74, groomed the child after transferring from Knowl View Residential School in Rochdale to a primary school in Leeds.

The court heard how Higgins abused the youngster numerous times during school trips he had organised for pupils in the early 1970s. He also forced theboy to have sex with him after taking him to his then home in Roundhay.

Higgins had left the Leeds school after being convicted of indecently assaulting a different boy whilst on a hiking trip. He was given a conditional charge by magistrates and was able to continue having access to children.

He went on to obtain a job as a youth worker until he was convicted ofindecently assaulting two youngsters in Skipton in 1983 and received a non-custodial sentence.

He was eventually jailed in 2002 after two former Knowl View pupils plucked up the courage to tell police of sexual abuse ordeals almost 30 years earlier. The pupils were between nine and eleven when they were assaulted in the council run residential school.

Claims emerged last week that a report into the abuse at Knowl View more than 20 years ago had been suppressed by Rochdale Council.

Higgins was regarded as a father figure to the boys at Knowl View, who often came from troubled backgrounds. He would gain their trust before inviting them to his room where he abused them.

It is understood that one of the boys told the deputy head at the time about the abuse but was slapped and told “not to talk about teachers in that way.” The abuse was then kept secret by both victims until Operation Cleopatra in 1997 – Greater Manchester Police’s biggest investigation into child abuse in residential homes.

Higgins was arrested in 2012 in relation to his latest conviction in Leeds after his victim finally felt he would be taken seriously.

It is understood that the boy had reported the abuse at the time of the incident but a local police officer refused to take it seriously based on Higgins trusted position within the community.

Police who travelled to Higgins home in West Yorkshire to investigate the case searched his home and found a box of papers relating to his years spent working at the Leeds school.

Officers found multiple references to trips he had taken. The victims name appeared several times in the papers alongside some of the destinations.

Officers also visited the school and managed to obtain old records from when Higgins worked there. One entry referred to him joining the Leeds school after being a master at the ‘Rochdale Home for Maladjusted Children.’