A prolific sex offender who spent nearly three decades evading justice has finally been jailed for a total of 46 years.
Richard Burrows, 81, of HMP Altcourse, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, 30 April, where he was sentenced after being found guilty of 54 offences, including indecent assault of boys, buggery, attempted buggery, and indecency with a child.
He had also previously pleaded guilty to 43 additional offences, including the making and possession of indecent images of children and possession of false identity documents.
The court heard that between 1968 and 1995, Burrows systematically abused 24 young boys across Cheshire, the West Midlands, and West Mercia.
In Cheshire, his offences took place between 1969 and 1971 while he worked as a Housemaster at Danesford Children’s Home in Congleton, where he had direct responsibility for vulnerable children.
Elsewhere, he gained access to victims through local Scout groups, using shared interests like radio communications and boating to build trust.
Although some victims tried to speak out at the time, many feared they would not be believed.
It was not until the 1990s, amid broader national revelations of abuse within children’s institutions, that many survivors felt able to come forward.
A major investigation led to Burrows’ arrest in 1997, but after being granted bail by the court, he vanished before a scheduled hearing.
For 27 years, Cheshire Police pursued leads both domestically and internationally but were unable to locate him.
In April 2023, detectives used specialist image recognition software to scan billions of online records and successfully identified Burrows living under the alias Peter Smith in Chalong, Phuket, Thailand.
He had fraudulently obtained a passport using the stolen identity of a terminally ill acquaintance.
After a coordinated effort between Cheshire Police, the National Crime Agency (NCA), and Thai authorities, Burrows was arrested and extradited to the UK.
He was charged with further offences reported during his years on the run.
Following his conviction, Burrows was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Detectives praised the immense bravery of the victims and reaffirmed their commitment to bringing abusers to justice, regardless of how long it takes.
