JOSEPH NORCROSS OF BLACKBURN SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST YOUNG VICTIMS

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Blackburn community, Joseph Norcross, a 55-year-old former trainee priest and care worker, was sentenced to a decade behind bars for a series of heinous sexual offences committed during the 1980s. The conviction follows a lengthy investigation and trial that uncovered a disturbing pattern of abuse involving both male and female victims.

Norcross, who resided on Ulverston Close in the Highercroft area of Blackburn, was found guilty by a jury in October of nine separate sexual offences. These offences spanned over several years and included assaults on young boys and girls, with the most serious being a rape committed in 1989. His crimes began when he met his first victim, a 12-year-old boy, in 1982 at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour church located on Pilmuir Road in Blackburn. At the time, Norcross was involved with the church community and was also running a youth football team, which he used as a platform to groom and manipulate his victims.

Over the course of five years, Norcross engaged in a disturbing pattern of abuse, culminating in the rape of the boy’s girlfriend in 1989. The victim, who only came forward publicly in 2004 after reading newspaper reports about other victims of sexual abuse, expressed relief and a sense of closure following the sentencing. Speaking exclusively to the Lancashire Telegraph, he stated, “I don’t think anything would make up for what he did to me but I’m happy at the sentence. I wanted him to be found guilty and he was. It will allow me to move on with my life.”

The victim also emphasized the importance of speaking out, especially for others who might be suffering in silence. “If anyone has been in a similar situation they should speak to someone. I came forward because I didn’t want it to happen to anyone else. I was scared to come forward because after 15 years I wondered whether anyone was going to believe me but they did. This provides closure.”

Norcross’s criminal record includes convictions on three counts of assaulting a boy under 14, four counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16, one count of indecent assault against a 15-year-old girl, and a count of rape on the same girl. During sentencing, Judge Robert Brown condemned Norcross’s actions, stating, “You spent one year grooming him and then started abusing him. When he started becoming interested in girls, you used him as a magnet to attract girls so you could be sexually active with them. You were a father figure to him and his mother was grateful for the interest you showed. She thought you provided a good example. How wrong she was.”

Outside the courtroom, Norcross’s daughter, Collette Norcross, aged 23 and also a Blackburn resident, expressed her family's ongoing fight for justice. “We are going to continue fighting for an appeal for a loved and respected member of the family,” she declared, highlighting the family's stance amid the serious allegations and conviction.