Richard Bradshaw let the boys smoke and drink while he was with them to ‘break down the barriers’
16:02, 10 Apr 2026
He was jailed at Leicester Crown Court
A paedophile who lost his job as a youth worker for offences against a boy has now been jailed for more serious crimes in the past.
Plumbing and heating engineer Richard Bradshaw, now 69, was previously a volunteer at a youth club based at a Leicestershire school. The club had a converted library van fitted with bunk beds and Bradshaw would occasionally take the boys away overnight as part of his volunteer role.
But he was sacked in 2007 after allegations were made against him, which resulted in him being given a caution by Leicestershire Police.
But a second boy had also been seriously sexually assaulted by Bradshaw, Leicester Crown Court heard on Friday (April 10).
The 14-year-old boy, now a married father, kept the abuse secret until about 25 years after it happened when he had a nervous breakdown in 2023.
He let his wife know about the abuse that had been “haunting” him and then went to Leicestershire Police. Bradshaw, of Smisby Road, Ashby, later admitted three counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16.
Further offences against a second boy at around the same time were charged but Bradshaw denied them and the case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Prosecutor John Simmons said: “He used his position to predate upon the victim.
“The defendant volunteered to give lifts and had a van and would take groups away on trips. It was on those trips the offences occurred.
“It was an old converted library van for up to eight people and he allowed boys to smoke and drink.”
He said that on the first occasion, when the boy was 14, the victim woke up to find the defendant using the boy’s left hand to perform a sex act on himself.
On the later occasions the boy woke up to find Bradshaw touching his genitals. Commenting on one of the two further occasions, Mr Simmons said: “The defendant was standing at the side of the bed when he woke up and he felt his body moving.
“He woke up and said, ‘no’.”
Mr Simmons read out a statement from the victim, who was in court to see his abuser jailed. The victim said: “The incident has really ruined the relationship with my wife.
“For over 25 years I tried to bury it and then I had a breakdown and it all came out. I was reliving it in my sleep – it was horrible.
“I still freak out if my wife touches me when I’m asleep.” He said he was still “haunted” by the abuse.
Robert Tolhurst, representing Bradsahw, said the offences were 25 years ago and there had been no further offending since.
He said: “He has avoided sexual relationships because of the difficulties he has in dealing with his own sexuality. He feels a deep sense of shame.”
He asked the judge to consider a suspended sentence for his client due to the time that had passed.
Judge Timothy Spencer KC described Bradshaw as a “sad and lonely” man and said he recognised the fact he had kept his “homosexual predilections for young boys” in check for the past 25 years.
Commenting on Bradshaw’s role with the youth club, he said: “You used that as an opportunity to sexually exploit the victim.
“This was not a one-off. There was a serious breach of trust.
“You allowed the boys to drink in the van and that, I’m sure, was part of breaking down the barriers.
“You were grooming him for this activity.
“For over 25 years [the victim] has tried to bury this and it has haunted him since the day it happened and it’s not surprising that three years ago it caused him to have a breakdown and it all came out.
“It has, as he says, been horrible. And you bear the responsibility for that, Richard Bradshaw.”
He jailed Bradshaw for three years and two months. Bradshaw will also be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Leicestershire Police was unable to provide Leicestershire Live with a custody image of Bradshaw because he had never been in custody. The force said Bradshaw voluntarily attended an interview and no custody image was ever taken.
