Former boarding school headmaster and scout leader Richard Burrows, after fleeing to Thailand about 30 years ago, was convicted of around 100 crimes, including dozens of child abuse offenses. The 80-year-old man was captured thanks to artificial intelligence.

Richard Burrows, an 80-year-old pedophile who lived as a fugitive for 27 years, was captured in Thailand through facial recognition technology supported by artificial intelligence.

According to a news report on BBC, Burrows, who lived as a fugitive for about 30 years, was systematically sexually abusing 24 children in Cheshire, West Midlands, and West Mercia regions between 1968 and 1995.

Burrows, who fled just before appearing in court in 1997 and then evaded the authorities for many years, was traced to the island of Phuket in Thailand through the facial recognition software called Pimeyes developed by the Cheshire Police.

The police revealed that Burrows had escaped abroad using the identity of an acquaintance suffering from a fatal illness.

His sentencing for 54 crimes, including crimes like sexual abuse of children, producing inappropriate images, and possessing fake identity documents, will be announced next month. Cheshire Police discovered that Burrows gained the trust of children while working in a children’s home in Cheshire from 1969 to 1971, leading to their abuse, and also sexually assaulted many children in the Scout groups he led.

Many of Burrows’ victims remained silent for years out of fear of reporting the abuse. A thorough investigation into the crimes at Danesford Children’s Home was initiated in 1994, but Burrows disappeared at that time.

Chief Inspector Eleanor Atkinson of Cheshire Police stated that Burrows’ actions had a lasting impact on his victims, but justice prevailed in the end, allowing the victims to find relief. Burrows will appear at Chester Crown Court in the coming months to receive his sentence.