A former scout leader from Birmingham has been sentenced to 46 years in prison for a string of historic child sex offences, after spending almost 30 years hiding in Thailand. Richard Burrows, aged 81, was convicted of over 90 crimes involving 24 boys — some as young as nine — committed between the late 1960s and mid-1990s.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00A former scout leader from Birmingham who spent nearly three decades on the run in Thailand
00:06has been jailed for 46 years for child abuse offences.
00:11Richard Burrows, who's 81, was convicted of more than 90 crimes involving 24 boys aged
00:18as young as nine from the late 60s through to the mid-90s.
00:23Many victims were targeted through scouting activities in Sutton Caulfield, Walsall and
00:29other parts of the West Midlands.
00:32Burrows fled to Thailand after being dismissed from the scouts in 1994 following abuse allegations,
00:39but police weren't informed at the time, allowing him to evade justice.
00:44Judge Stephen Everett, sentencing at Chester Crown Court, branded him a despicable man, saying
00:51Burrows had lied repeatedly, prolonging the anguish of his victims.
00:56James Harvey, one victim from Warsaw, who wiped his anonymity, told the court Burrows had
01:02destroyed his childhood, using his trusted position solely for evil.
01:08Police arrested Burrows in 2024 after he returned to Britain due to running out of money.
01:15Cheshire Police prized victims' bribery, saying Burrows' capture sent a strong message to other
01:22wanted offenders. Burrows was initially investigated after compliance emerged from scout groups in
01:30Sutton Caulfield, but avoided arrest until recently. Officers believed more West Midlands victims
01:37might still come forward following Burrows' conviction, urging anyone affected to speak out.
01:44Burrows' conviction during theare conviction.
01:57Burrows' conviction, but loved ones' catchphrase.
02:02excuse me.
02:04Burrows' conviction.
02:05Burrows' conviction.
02:06Bur Chronicle' conviction.
02:07Burrows' conviction.