Searching billions of photos led police to fugitive paedophile Richard Burrows after decades

ITV News

30-04-2025

A paedophile who stayed on-the-run in a place he called "paradise" for almost 30 years was caught after a search of billions of online photos.
Richard Burrows fled the UK, in 1997, to escape justice for sexually abusing boys during his time as a scout leader and school housemaster.
He failed to appear at a court in Chester while on bail, but the authorities did not know he had managed to leave the country and no appeal helped to trace him.
In 2023, advances in facial recognition software offered detectives the chance to scour the internet for Burrows.
Out of the billions of images the system trawled, there were matches to someone calling himself 'Peter Smith' who was living in Thailand.
'Smith' worked at an advertising company and had appeared in the local Thai media.
Detective Inspector Eli Atikinson told ITV News about what she called the "breakthrough moment."
She said: "We put in the custody photograph from 1997.
"The software provided a couple of matches to images from news articles from Phuket which showed his retirement do from the sailing club that he was a member of."
The identity Burrows was living under had been stolen from a terminally-ill acquaintance of his.
Back in 1997, he had used Peter Smith's name to fraudulently obtain a genuine passport and then travel to Thailand undetected.
After confirming that 'Smith' was Burrows, Cheshire Police contacted the National Crime Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service to begin extradition proceedings.
But officers soon became aware of Burrows' intention to return to the UK under his stolen alias after he ran out of money.
Last March, the now 81-year-old was arrested at Heathrow Airport.
For Burrows' victims, seeing him in a courtroom has taken a painfully long time with some passing away before it could happen.
James Harvey is among those still here to see it. He was just 12-years-old when he was indecently assaulted by Burrows.
Mr Harvey waived his right to anonymity to speak about what happened to him.
He told ITV News: "I suddenly was aware that this man was trying to touch me in a way that nobody had ever tried to touch me before.
"I knew in that instant that this was not normal. This was terribly embarrassing and uncomfortable, and I didn't like it.
"[Burrows] is a serial, pitiless, cruel, manipulative, cynical human being who deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison."
Burrows' offending in Cheshire took place between 1969 and 1971 while he was employed as a housemaster looking after vulnerable children at Danesford Children's Home in Congleton.
His victims in the Midlands were abused between 1968 and 1995, the majority through local Scout groups where Burrows worked as a leader. In each case, he befriended the boys using his position of trust.
One victim told Chester Crown Court that Burrows had "stripped away my humanity" in an eight-hour ordeal during his camping trip with the Scouts.
The Honorary Recorder of Chester, Judge Steven Everett, replied: "You have done nothing to be ashamed of."
Another victim said at the time he hid the abuse from his parents, could not tell any of his friends or trust a grown-up any more.
He said: "I had no-one to turn to and just internalised it all. It totally affected my future relationships and behaviour.
"Even now I keep going through my head: 'Why did you assault me?' I looked up to you.''
Judge Everett responded: "I want to be crystal clear. There is only one person at fault here and he is sitting opposite me in the dock."
Those who finally tracked down Burrows hope this case shows that suspects will always be found, even in far-flung corners of the globe.
Det Insp Atkinson said: "In emails that we have found since his arrest, Burrows described how he has spent the past three decades 'living in paradise', while his victims have all been left to suffer as they struggled to try and rebuild their lives.
"Thankfully, following our determination, he has finally been held accountable for his actions and is now behind bars where he belongs.
"I also hope that this case acts as a warning to any other wanted suspects - demonstrating that no matter how long you hide, we will find you and you will be held accountable."