April 30th 2025.
A former scout leader, Richard Burrows, has been sentenced to 46 years in prison after being on the run for almost 30 years. Burrows, now 81 years old, was found guilty of abusing 24 young boys in the Cheshire, West Midlands, and West Mercia areas between 1968 and 1995. He had worked as a scout leader and a housemaster in a children's home during this time.
Burrows was first arrested in April 1997 but fled after his first court appearance. Despite repeated police appeals and four Crimewatch appeals, he remained elusive. It wasn't until April 2023 that officers found a match for a Peter Smith, who was living in Phuket, Thailand, using specialized software to search for any possible images of Burrows online. It was discovered that Burrows had stolen Smith's name and used it to obtain a passport fraudulently, enabling him to leave the country undetected.
Authorities became aware of Burrows' plans to return to the UK under the same alias and were waiting for him when he arrived at Heathrow Airport. He was then taken into custody. Burrows was found guilty of 54 offenses, including indecent assault, buggery, attempted buggery, and indecency with a child. He had already pleaded guilty to 43 other offenses, including indecent assault, making indecent images of children, and possession of false identity documents.
The abuse in Cheshire took place between 1969 and 1971 while Burrows was working as a housemaster at Danesford Children's Home in Congleton. His victims in the West Midlands and West Mercia areas were also young boys who were abused between 1968 and 1995, most of whom were involved in local Scout groups where Burrows worked as a leader. He used his position of trust to befriend the victims, often exploiting their personal interests in radio communications or boating before sexually abusing them.
It wasn't until the 1990s, after revelations of abuse in other children's homes and institutions, that many of Burrows' victims found the courage to come forward. One victim described how Burrows had "stripped away [his] humanity" on his first camping trip with the Scouts, where he was subjected to eight hours of abuse. Another victim shared how the abuse had affected his relationships and behavior, and how he still questions why Burrows assaulted him.
During the trial, Judge Everett reassured the victims that they had nothing to be ashamed of and that Burrows was the only one at fault. He also mentioned that Burrows had described himself as a "good pedophile" and believed that his actions did not cause harm. Detective Inspector Eleanor Atkinson, who led the investigation, described Burrows as a "prolific sex offender" who specifically targeted vulnerable boys for his own sexual gratification. She also mentioned that Burrows had spent the last three decades "living in paradise" while his victims continued to suffer.
Despite the closure that this sentencing may bring for some of Burrows' victims, it is worth noting that four of them have since passed away and did not get to see justice served. As for Burrows, his days will now be spent in prison, a stark contrast to the "paradise" he boasted about for so many years. His defense lawyer acknowledged that he will most likely spend the rest of his life behind bars and expressed remorse for the suffering he had caused. However, as Judge Everett pointed out, there was little evidence of this remorse during the trial, and Burrows' warped belief that there are "good and bad" pedophiles is difficult to understand.
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