How West Yorkshire Police inspector hid years of guilt and torment of being sexually abused throughout career

The grooming and sexual abuse suffered by Michael Crampton during his formative years at the hands of his teacher helped shape his future career in the police force.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

He rose to the rank of detective inspector, being closely involved with bringing sex offenders to justice and helping victims of historic abuse.

Throughout the decades of his West Yorkshire Police career, he hid the emotional scars of himself being the victim of a paedophile.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Crampton joined the police cadets as a 17-year-old before becoming an officer based in Batley.

Michael Crampton.Michael Crampton.
Michael Crampton.

He went on to be become a detective sergeant, and later a detective inspector, based at the former Millgarth police station in Leeds.

After retiring as an officer he returned as a civilian employee to the role of digital forensic unit manager, now based in Wakefield.

He said: “I think we are all a product of our environment.

“I am as I am now as a result of things that have happened before.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I am the manager of the digital forensics unit, where most of our work is investigating paedophiles.

“My emphasis with all the work we do is to ensure we do not miss any opportunity help the victims of abuse.”

The 55-year-old said he was faced with the inner turmoil of questioning why he allowed the abuse to happen and why he did not have the courage to report Jones.

“The effect on me afterwards was about realising that it should not have happened. But I let it happen.

“Why did I let it happen? I was unable to process that.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“As a police officer, I was someone who needed to stand up for the rights of others. It felt wrong of me that I wasn’t also doing it for myself.

“I think in the initial years I had that on my mind.

“I joined the police cadets at 17 but remembered not having the courage to do anything about it - knowing it was wrong and the constant feeling that you should be doing something about it and you were not.

“I was going through a police career and getting management roles.

“I was dealing with victims all the time, telling them how brave they were and that they were doing the right thing but at the same time having this tremendous feeling of guilt on my shoulders.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Things that came onto the news would strike a chord, maybe something about Jimmy Savile, or an incident that I was dealing with - people ringing me up and saying ‘this happened to me when I was a kid’”.

Mr Crampton said he even remembered offering encouragement to a victim who decided to speak to the Yorkshire Evening Post about historic abuse he had suffered at the hands of a teacher.

He said: “I was telling him what a great thing it was that he was doing and all the time I didn’t have the courage to do it myself.”

The married father-of-two said his experiences led him to having a distrust of, including those entrusted with care of his own children.

He said: “The great worry was once you let them go through the school gates it doesn’t matter how vigilant you are - you have handed them over.”