Former Judas Priest Drummer Sentenced

Posted by Dana Suzanne on 02.17.2004

Dave Holland Will Serve Eight Years

According to soundgenerator.com, ex-Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland has been sentenced to eight years in jail after being found guilty of attempting to rape a special needs teenager.

Holland, 55, who was teaching the 17-year-old male how to play the drums, was convicted on one charge of attempted rape and five charges of indecent assault. The incident took place at the musician's Northamptonshire home between June and December 2002.

Sentencing Holland at Northampton Crown Court, judge Charles Wide QC said Holland's victim "was a boy with a very, very troubled past."

"You planned this abuse by grooming his parents and him through the careful construction of the opportunity to abuse and ... by giving him cigarettes, alcohol and porn," the judge told Holland. "You must never work with children again."

Holland joined Judas Priest in 1979 and played with the band for the next ten years before leaving the group.

Source: "Ex-Judas Priest Drummer Jailed" soundgenerator.com 16 February 2004