Prolific sex offender jailed after almost three decades on the run

A prolific sex offender who spent almost 30 years ‘living in paradise’ has finally been jailed.

Richard Burrows appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 30 April where he was sentenced to a total of 46 years in prison and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

The 81-year-old of HMP Altcourse, had earlier been found guilty of 54 offences following a trial at Chester Crown Court. These included indecent assault of boys, buggery, attempted buggery and indecency with a child.

He also pleaded guilty to a further 43 offences, including indecent assault of boys, making indecent images of children, possession of indecent images of children and four counts of possession of false identity documents with intent, at an earlier hearing.

The court heard how between 1968 and 1995 Burrows systematically abused 24 young boys across the Cheshire, West Midlands and West Mercia areas. 

The offences in Cheshire occurred between 1969 and 1971 while he was working as a Housemaster, looking after vulnerable children at Danesford Children’s Home in Congleton.

His victims in the West Midlands and West Mercia areas were also all young boys who were abused between 1968 and 1995, the majority through local Scout groups where Burrows worked as a leader.

In each case, he befriended the victims by using his position of trust over them and their personal interests, such as radio communications or boating. After gaining their trust, and in many cases the trust of their families, Burrows then went on to sexually abuse the boys.

While some of his victims attempted to speak out at the time, many simply did not feel that they would be believed.

It was not until the 1990s, following revelations in relation to offences at other children's homes and institutions, that many of the victims had the confidence to come forward.

Following the allegations in relation to the offences at Danesford Children’s Home, a large-scale investigation was launched by detectives from Cheshire Police in 1994.

Burrows was initially arrested in April 1997 and was subsequently charged in May 1997 with two counts of buggery and 11 counts of indecent assault in relation to the offences in Cheshire and some in the West Midlands. 

After his initial appearance in magistrates’ courts, he was released on bail by the court and was due to attend a further hearing at Chester Crown Court on Monday 8 December 1997. 

However, Burrows failed to attend, and officers subsequently discovered that he had disappeared.

Over the past 27 years detectives from Cheshire Police have been carrying out multiple enquiries to locate him. This included several wanted appeals and four Crimewatch appeals on national television as well as following up numerous leads, none of which indicated Burrows had left the country.

The investigation also included enquiries with various agencies and institutions within the UK as well as border and international checks, however there was no trace of him either within or outside of the UK.

Burrows remained on the Cheshire Police wanted list throughout the 27-year period and his case was regularly reviewed.

Despite the officers’ best efforts, there was no trace until April 2023 when detectives from the force's Serious and Organised Crime Unit used specialist software to search for any possible images of Burrows online.

After searching through billions of images, the system came back with a match for a man using the name of Peter Smith who was living in Chalong in Phuket, Thailand.

‘Peter’ had an active interest in sailing and had previously been working at an advertising company in Phuket. He had even featured in the local news in 2019 when he retired from his job.

Following further enquiries, officers discovered that Burrows had stolen the name Peter Smith from an acquaintance who was terminally ill. This allowed him to fraudulently obtain a 'genuine' passport in 1997 and so leave the country without detection.

After confirming that ‘Peter’ was in fact Burrows, officers contacted the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and began the process to extradite him to the UK.

Before that process was formally commenced, officers became aware of Burrows’ intention to return to the UK travelling under the alias of Peter Smith. The NCA informed Thai authorities and monitored his travel back to the UK. He was arrested as soon as he landed at Heathrow.

Following his arrest, Burrows was subsequently charged in relation to further offences in Cheshire, the West Midlands and West Mercia which had been reported since his disappearance.

A number of victims had come forward at different times to different police forces over the years as a result of media and Crimewatch appeals and because they felt the time was right for them to tell their story. Some victims also came forward on seeing that Burrows had been arrested.

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Eleanor Atkinson, who had led the investigation, said:

“Firstly, I want to recognise the bravery and courage shown by all the victims in this case. Without their testimony, support and patience, we would not have been able to reach this point.

“Burrows is a coward, he knew he was guilty in 1997, but rather than face the consequences of his actions, he fled the country after fraudulently obtaining a passport using the identity of an unwell man.

“He spent the last 27 years, in his own words, ‘living in paradise’. It is clear that he did not spare a thought for his victims, who were trying to live their lives under the shadow of the abuse they had suffered.

“It is my belief that Burrows hoped, on his return to the UK after so many years, that his offending might have been forgotten about.

“However, his victims could not forget what he did to them, Cheshire Police did not forget what he had done.

“The sentence handed to Burrows today will likely see Burrows spend the rest of his life in prison and I hope that this outcome finally provides the victims with some closure.

“I also hope that this case acts as a warning to any other wanted suspects out there – we will find you and you will be held accountable for your actions.

“Following the sentencing of Burrows, I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual offences to come forward, no matter how long ago the abuse took place. There is support available and you will be believed and listened to.”

Duncan Burrage, NCA International Liaison Officer, said:

“British paedophiles have gone to Thailand thinking it is a safe haven. It is not.

“This case is another example of our international officers working closely with Thai law enforcement to track down fugitives, making sure they return to the UK to face the consequences of the crimes.

“Richard Burrows spent decades on the run and went to great lengths change his identity and live in Thailand, but he has finally faced justice in the UK. I hope this has provided some closure to the individuals he targeted with such serious abuse."

Detective Inspector Atkinson added:

“Cheshire Constabulary takes any allegation of sexual offences extremely seriously, no matter how long ago they relate to, as this case shows.

“Any allegation will be thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority. Victims should never feel ashamed to talk about what they have been subjected to.

“They will receive the help and support they need from our specialist officers, as well as from other support agencies we work alongside, and all victims of sexual offences have the right to anonymity for life.”

Sexual offences can be reported to Cheshire Constabulary via: 

https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report or by calling 101

Statement read outside court by DI Eli Atkinson following the sentencing of Richard Burrows:

"Firstly, I want to recognise the bravery and courage shown by all the victims in this case. Without their testimony, support and patience, we would not have been able to reach this point.

"Burrows is a coward, he knew he was guilty in 1997, but rather than face the consequences of his actions, he fled the country after fraudulently obtaining a passport using the identity of an unwell man.

"He spent the last 27 years, in his own words, ‘living in paradise’. It is clear that he did not spare a thought for his victims, who were trying to live their lives under the shadow of the abuse they had suffered.

"It is my belief that Burrows hoped, on his return to the UK after so many years, that his offending might have been forgotten about.

"However, his victims could not forget what he did to them, it has affected every aspect of their lives long into adulthood, and Cheshire Police did not forget what he had done.

"Whilst he pleaded guilty to a large number of offences on his return to the UK, he refused to accept responsibility for some of his most serious offending, forcing his victims to go through the traumatic process of giving evidence at trial.

"He tried to convince the Jury that he wasn’t a ‘bad’ paedophile and that he only did things that his victims wanted him to do.

"He showed no remorse and no understanding of the trauma he has caused so many people. He abused the trust of children in his care as both House Master and Scout Leader in the very worst of ways, targeting vulnerable boys for his own sexual gratification.

"Four of his victims passed away before he was brought to justice. Although their cases were included in the trial and he was found guilty of their abuse, he denied them the opportunity of seeing this happen.

"The sentence handed to Burrows today will likely see Burrows spend the rest of his life in prison and I hope that this outcome finally provides the victims with some closure.

"I also hope that this case acts as a warning to any other wanted suspects out there – we will find you and you will be held accountable for your actions.

"Following the sentencing of Burrows, I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual offences to come forward, no matter how long ago the abuse took place. There is support available and you will be believed and listened to."

Pictured - Richard Burrows.