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Police use AI to capture paedophile after decades on the run

A screengrab taken from body worn video of the arrest of Richard Burrows at Heathrow Airport
A screengrab taken from body worn video of the arrest of Richard Burrows at Heathrow Airport (PA Media)
  • Former Scout leader Richard Burrows, 80, has been found guilty of 54 child sex offences after being on the run in Thailand for 27 years.
  • Burrows abused 24 boys between 1968 and 1995 in Cheshire, West Midlands, and West Mercia.
  • He fled the UK in 1997 using a stolen identity after being charged, evading capture despite Crimewatch appeals.
  • Cheshire Police located Burrows in 2024 using AI facial recognition technology and a tip-off, leading to his arrest upon arrival at Heathrow Airport.
  • The “specialist software” used by detectives was reportedly the mass facial recognition search engine PimEyes, which scoured the internet to find anyone matching a digitally altered mugshot of Burrows.
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