Former Primary School Teacher Jailed for Indecent Assault of Girls

Graham Nichols, 62, has been sentenced to three years in prison for indecently assaulting five girls at St Annes Catholic Primary School in Keighley. The assaults occurred between the 1970s and 1980, with the victims being eight and nine years old at the time.

Nichols, who taught at the school for many years, was found guilty of ten charges of indecent assault and one charge of gross indecency with a child. The court heard that two of the girls had reported his behavior to the headmistress, Sister Eugenie, but their claims were not believed. Nichols then placed one of the girls in the dunces corner.

The offenses came to light many years later when one of the victims, who was training to be a nursery nurse, recalled the abuse during a child protection course. Following publicity in the Telegraph & Argus, another woman came forward, stating that she had also been abused by Nichols at St Columbas School in Bradford.

During the investigation, Nichols admitted to the offenses, stating that he had acted out of curiosity due to his limited knowledge of girls. The court heard that he was suffering from a personality disorder at the time.

Judge James Stewart QC stated that Nichols had abused his position of trust as a teacher and that his actions had traumatized the victims. He ordered that Nichols register as a sex offender indefinitely and made a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to prevent him from having unsupervised contact with children under 16.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds was asked for a comment but did not respond.