March 4, 2016 3.02 pm This story is over 96 months old

Former Lincoln clergyman pleads guilty to sexual assault of teen

Facing jail: A former Lincolnshire clergyman faces jail after pleading guilty to the sexual assault of a teenager.

A former Lincolnshire clergyman was on Friday, March 4 warned he faces jail after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

Stephen Crabtree, who served as the rector of Washingborough and Heighington until 2014, admitted a total of six charges of indecent assault on a 15-year-old girl when he appeared before Lincoln Crown Court.

As previously reported, the offences occurred between April 1992 and April 1993.

Judge Simon Hirst adjourned sentence for the preparation of a probation report.

But Crabtree, who also served as a clergyman in Mareham le Fen, was warned by the judge: “You have entered guilty pleas to serious offences.

“I’m going to adjourn your case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. Please don’t think for one moment that the fact that I’m adjourning means that you won’t get locked up for this. Expect custody.”

Crabtree, 59, who now lives in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was granted unconditional bail to await sentence at the end of this month.