Paedophile who spent 27 years on the run guilty of dozens of child sexual abuse offences
A former boarding school housemaster and scout leader has been found guilty of 97 offences, including dozens of historical child sexual abuse offences.
Richard Burrows spent 27 years on the run, living in what he described as “paradise”, after fleeing the UK when he was due to appear in court in 1997.
He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on his return from Thailand on the eve of his 80th birthday last March.
Richard Burrows. Pic: Cheshire Police
Burrows, who lived in the southern Thailand province of Phuket, told family he had come back to face his accusers and his maker – police say the truth was that he simply had run out of money.
He had previously admitted dozens of offences dating from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s.
The jury at Chester Crown Court heard that Burrows systematically abused boys with whom he came into contact.
Burrows had admitted 43 offences – and denied 54 others, which jurors convicted him of on Monday.
Mark Connor KC said: “He obtained positions of trust and responsibility which he breached to satisfy himself sexually with the youngsters.”
Burrows had worked as a housemaster at a school for troubled teenagers in Cheshire in the 1960s. He was later involved with the scouts and amateur radio clubs in the Midlands.
Richard Burrows was met by police at Heathrow
Victim describes ‘despicable, evil human being’
James Harvey was 13 or 14 when he was befriended by Burrows through his involvement with the sea scouts. Burrows admitted indecently assaulting James in a caravan after visiting an RAF show.
James has waived his right to anonymity as a victim of a sexual offence.
He told Sky News: “The reason I’m doing this is to at least put a face to the real children who from the age of 10, 12, 13, put their trust in this man. I want his name to be trashed in the world for everybody that ever knew him and thought that he was okay.
“I think he’s pathetic in the true sense of the word. His impulses and emotions have driven everything that he’s done probably throughout the whole of his life and have left him looking like a shambling, despicable, evil human being that could casually over 60 years do this to children and still wake up in the morning and find a way of justifying it.
“I think he’s pathetic, I think he’s weak. There is nothing about this man that deserves anything other than loathing.”
James Harvey has waived his right to anonymity
Accusers came forward after Crimewatch appeal
During his trial, Burrows admitted being a paedophile but denied the more serious allegations, describing them as “degrading and disgusting”.
The court heard that Burrows believed his actions had done no harm to the children.
As he planned his return to the UK last year, he told his brother that “not all paedophiles are the same”.
“I just think that’s a disgusting comment to make,” detective inspector Eli Atkinson of Cheshire Police told Sky News.
“What we see when we talk to the victims is that it absolutely did do harm. For the vast majority of them, that is their first sexual experience at the age of nine, ten, eleven, twelve, that affects a person for the rest of their life.”
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Paedophile’s life in Thailand
Burrows, who is originally from Sutton Coldfield, was first arrested in April 1997 and charged with child sexual offences. When he failed to appear at Chester Crown Court that December, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Over the years, police made numerous televised appeals for help to track down Burrows on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme. It prompted more accusers to come forward.
But Burrows had left the UK. He obtained a passport using the name Peter Leslie Smith having cloned the identity of an unwell acquaintance.
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During a routine reappraisal of the case, police used facial recognition software to confirm that “Smith” was in fact Burrows, and that he was living openly in Thailand.
When they became aware of his plans to return to the UK, police allowed Burrows to travel on his fake passport so he could be arrested as he touched down.
Cheshire Police say they are not able to say whether Burrows might have offended during his time living abroad.
DI Atkinson said it is possible there are other victims who have not come forward.
“There may well be. There’s a lot of reasons why people have really difficult decisions to make as to whether they come forward in cases like this.
“It would not surprise me if, given the length of time that he offended over and the level of offending, if there were more people out there who were victims of him.”
James Harvey has questions over why Burrows was granted bail in 1997. He also wonders whether he could have done more to report him earlier.
“People listening to me now might think ‘Oh, I’d behave differently’ but we had no language, no framework, no understanding, no imagination that this same person had done to us, would go on and do something so much worse to somebody else.
“It is almost impossible for me to sit here and say I wish I had done that. There was no way that I could, literally. We lived in this kind of unbelievable ignorance and innocence that there were predators like this living in every single one of our institutions.”
Burrows has now been convicted. Some of his accusers died before seeing him finally face justice.
A 19-year-old who murdered his family and wanted to be the worst mass killer the UK has seen had 33 cartridges on him to carry out an attack on his former school, a court has heard.
Nicholas Prosper shot his mother Juliana Falcon, 48, sister Giselle, 13, and shot and stabbed his brother Kyle, 16, at their family home in Luton on 13 September last year.
But he did not plan on stopping there, according to prosecutor Timothy Cray KC, who told Luton Crown Court he had prepared the murders “for months” and wanted to kill at least 30 schoolchildren.
“His planning was cold, deliberate and without sympathy or emotion towards the actual victims or potential victims,” he said, speaking at Prosper’s sentencing.
His “main wish”, however, was to “achieve lasting notoriety as a mass killer”, Mr Cray added, specifically to “imitate and even surpass other mass killers around the world”.
“He had conducted in-depth internet research on shootings in the United States of America, Norway, Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
“He understood his plans, if realised, would bring about the greatest number of deaths in a school or other mass shooting in the United Kingdom and possibly even in the United States of America.”
Nicholas Prosper
The investigation suggests that the defendant “acted alone”, he added, and “his plans did not arise from any political or ideological cause”.
Prosper had undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the court heard, but he showed an “extreme lack of empathy with others and an extreme lack of remorse” that can’t be explained by ASD alone.
Up until Year 11, the court heard Prosper was a “geeky” and quiet boy with a small group of friends who were into computers, but problems began in sixth form and he wouldn’t engage with mental health support.
Gruesome murders
Prosper never reached St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, which was three-quarters of a mile from his home, as police arrested him after he escaped to a wooded area.
After he left, officers broke into his family flat at about 5.50am, following a call from a neighbour.
There, the court heard, they found Prosper’s little sister underneath a dining table in the living room, “as if she had been trying to hide there”.
His mother and brother – who was stabbed more than 100 times – were both found in the hallway.
Giselle Prosper (left), Juliana Prosper (centre) and Kyle Prosper. Pic: family pics issued via Bedfordshire police
He had planned to kill his family in their sleep, but when his mother realised something was wrong and challenged him, it led to “an extended violent struggle”.
After the horrific and noisy attack on his family members, Prosper knew police would be on their way and so had to leave three hours earlier than he had anticipated.
The teenager was then arrested by a passing police patrol as he walked along a residential road in Luton.
He had hidden the shotgun and cartridges nearby.
Prosper admitted their murders at a hearing last month, as well as purchasing a shotgun without a certificate, possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life and possession of a kitchen knife in a public place.
Plans long in the making
These killings were planned for more than a year, the court heard, with Prosper managing to buy a shotgun with a fake firearms certificate.
He had put together a black and yellow uniform he wanted to wear for his killing spree, and he had filmed a video of himself holding a plank of wood as a mock gun.
Nicholas Prosper has admitted killing his family
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Prosper had included his own name, a picture and his real address on his fake firearms licence, the court heard.
He had also inserted the signature of a Bedfordshire Police firearms sergeant on 30 August last year.
On the same day, Prosper messaged a private seller who had advertised a shotgun for £450, offering to pay £600 if cartridges were included, Mr Cray said.
The seller agreed to drop the gun off to him on 12 September, the day before the killings, prompting Prosper to respond in a message: “I look forward to meeting you.”
Forensic examiners found Prosper had fired seven cartridges, the first being a test shot into a teddy bear in his bedroom.
Prosper’s step-by-step plan
A couple of months later, a prison officer found the notes in Prosper’s trainer sole after searching his cell on 13 November.
He had written the planned shooting would be “one of the biggest events ever,” Mr Cray said.
Tributes were left outside the home. Pic: PA
“I was right in predicting no-one would’ve called the police had I killed them in their sleep. 3 shots under 30 seconds,” he had written.
“The only known phone call to police that day was made by the b**** at the door as a result of my B**** mother waking them up and it being turned into a long struggle.
“My plan wasn’t ‘stupid’. I was f****** right. MY MOTHER IS A STUPID F****** COW.”
The notes continued: “But why so early? So I’d have time to cannibalise my family, and rape a woman at knife point before the shooting.”
He had also written a step-by-step plan, detailing he would jump two gates and shoot down a glass door while children were together for “prayer/registration”.
He would then “shout that this is a robbery and for everyone to get down”, before shooting two teachers and killing children at Early Years Foundation Stage – the youngest.
That part of the note finished with: “Go to the next classroom. Kill a couple more. Suicide.”
‘Pain will never heal’
His father, who was also dad to Giselle and Kyle, said part of his soul died when he found out what his son had done.
In a statement read out by Mr Cray, Raymond Prosper said: “The pain of our loss will never be healed. This includes my whole family, our lives will never be the same.
“When I heard the horrific news on that day, part of my soul died too. This is a lose-lose situation for us all.”
The sentencing hearing continues.
The eligibility criteria for disability benefits will be narrowed in a bid to slash £5bn from the welfare bill, Liz Kendall has announced.
Speaking in the Commons, the work and pensions secretary said the number of new people claiming personal independence payment (PIP) is “not sustainable”.
Politics Live: Reaction as welfare system reforms announced
She said the government will not freeze PIP – as reports had previously suggested – but instead make it harder to qualify for the daily living allowance component from November 2026.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is money for people who have extra care needs or mobility needs as a result of a disability.
People who claim it are awarded points depending on their ability to do certain activities, like washing and preparing food, and this influences how much they will receive.
Ms Kendall said that from November 2026, people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of PIP.
Currently, the standard rate is given if people score between eight and 11 points overall, while the enhanced rate applies from 12 points.
The changes will not affect the mobility component, Ms Kendall said.
It’s not clear how many people will be impacted as a result. The Office for Budget Responsibility will set out their final assessment of the costings at the spring statement next week.
Charities and unions reacted angrily to the announcement, with the Disability Benefits Consortium urging the government to reverse the “cruel cuts”, saying it will be harder for disabled people to manage.
What other measures have been announced?
Ms Kendall also announced a review of the PIP assessment, which she said will be done “in close consultation with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other experts”.
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Young people brace for benefit reform
There will also be a consultation on delaying access to the health top up on universal credit until someone is aged 22, with the savings to be reinvested into work support and training opportunities.
And the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), which determines if a person is fit for work or not, will be scrapped in 2028 with financial support for people who are sick or disabled determined solely through the PIP assessment.
Ms Kendall said the WCA is based on a “binary can can’t work divide when we know the truth is that many people’s physical and mental health conditions fluctuate“.
“Reducing the number of assessments that people have to go through is a vital step towards de-risking work”, she added.
Other reforms announced today include:
- Merging jobseeker’s allowance and employment and support allowance
- Raising the standard universal credit allowance by £775 in 2029/30
- Introducing a “right to try” initiative so people who want to attempt to get back into work won’t lose their benefits while they do
Ms Kendall said: “This is a significant reform package that is expected to save over £5 billion by 2029.”
Chancellor looking for savings
The announcement comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves struggles to balance the books due to a poor economy and geopolitical events, with further spending cuts expected in her spring statement next week.
Rachel Reeves
The cost of long-term sickness and disability benefits for working-age people has risen by £20bn since the pandemic and is forecast to hit £70bn over the next five years.
Ministers have said there is also a moral case for change, with one in eight young people not in education, training or employment – prompting fears of a “wasted generation”.
Ms Kendall said that while more people are now living with a disability, the increase in those seeking disability benefits is disproportionate.
Claims amongst young people are up 150%, while claims for mental health conditions are up 190% and claims for learning difficulties are up over 400%, she said.
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Ms Kendall blamed the Tories for creating a system that is “holding our country back”.
She acknowledged that some people can never work, but said many sick and disabled people want to “with the right help and support” and they should “have the same chances and choices as everyone else”.
Reports ahead of the announcements had suggested there was unease around the cabinet table, with ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said to have voiced concerns in private.
But the prime minister’s official spokesman insisted this morning that the government is united in its agreement on the need for reform.
Call to reverse ‘cruel cuts’
Charles Gillies, of the Disability Benefit Consortium, said: “These immoral and devastating benefits cuts will push more disabled people into poverty, and worsen people’s health.”
He said changes to personal independence payments will make it harder for disabled people to manage “the overwhelming additional costs of their condition, from wheelchairs to visits from carers”, calling on the government to reverse the “cruel cuts”.
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