A paedophile who spent nearly three decades on the run in Thailand, denying victims justice, has been jailed for 46 years.

Richard Burrows, 81, formerly of Birmingham, was sentenced for more than 90 child sex abuse offences at Chester Crown Court.

His trial heard he abused 24 boys as young as nine while a housemaster at a Cheshire boarding school and through involvement with scouts in the West Midlands between 1968 and 1995.

Judge Steven Everett told Burrows at the sentencing on Wednesday: “You are a despicable man”.

When defence barrister Philip Clemo told the court that Burrows would spend his last days in prison, the judge said: “I don’t suppose there’ll be anyone who’ll mourn that.”

The jury had heard one of his accusers told police he “hated” the abuse, which would happen as much as two to three times per week, but said he “could do nothing about it”, adding “I was frightened and young”.

Judge Everett said Burrows had given “awful” evidence, particularly a claim that there were “good paedophiles and bad paedophiles”.

He also remarked that Burrows had “lied [through] your back teeth” in police interviews, and when Burrows nodded at him, the judge replied: “I see you nodding – it’s too late now.”

Burrows was on the run for 28 years, fleeing to Thailand and changing his identity, before returning to the UK in 2024 when he ran out of money.

In mitigation, Mr Clemo accepted victims had faced an extensive delay in getting justice, but that Burrows had come back of his own free will and didn’t “have to come back in shackles”. He also told the court that Burrows had cancer, but “the kind of cancer you die with rather than from”.

The judge replied: “If he still had money and he wasn’t ill he would still be in Thailand now. He felt he had no option [but] to come back.”

He added that Burrows’ decision to flee to Thailand increased the anguish suffered by his victims. A resulting BBC Crimewatch programme led to other victims coming forward.

Mr Clemo told the court that Burrows “knows he’s caused incredible suffering” and has been “struggling with his mental health too”.

He added the paedophile’s thought processes and perceptions were “warped”, but that his mitigation was “not designed to diminish the pain and suffering detailed so eloquently” by victims.

At the first day of the sentencing on Tuesday, victim impact statements were read in court, and some spoke from the witness stand.

One said his childhood was “completely and permanently destroyed” by Burrows, having been drugged and raped in a tent over a 12-hour period.

The man said he was 10 or 11 when he was abused by Burrows, who took part in scout camps and activities in Sutton Coldfield and Ross-on-Wye.

“What was left of me as a child was taken away by Burrows,” he said in the witness box.

James Harvey, who waived his legal right to anonymity, told the court he was abused by Burrows in a caravan at night.

The attacks took place at an airshow at Baginton Aerodrome – later known as Coventry Airport – after Mr Harvey had met Burrows while he was a sea scout in Walsall.

“You had so many qualities that could have been put to good, but you used every single one for evil purposes,” Mr Harvey said in court, addressing Burrows.

Some of the charges related to Burrows’ time as a housemaster at Danesford School in Congleton, Cheshire, between 1969 and 1971.

Judge Everett said: “I’m glad it’s closed. One can only hope that places like that are never ever opened again.”

He said vulnerable boys were “corralled” into a place where staff “either didn’t care or actively sexually abused boys”.

Burrows became the starting point for a huge police investigation in the 1990s spanning Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester police and resulting in convictions of other men at homes in the region.

Cheshire Police also proactively looked into Burrows’ time with the Scouts, and found victims in the West Midlands.

The judge pointed out that Burrows was sacked from Danesford in 1971 after a boy reported being abused by him.

Judge Everett said: “What is telling is, first of all, nothing was done at the time and secondly as a result you went on to commit serious sexual abuse on a whole range of other boys.”

He also said a complaint led to Burrows being kicked out of the Scouts in 1994, but “they didn’t bring it to the attention of the police”, and Burrows’ offending continued until 1996.

The Scout Association said: “Burrows’ crimes are abhorrent. We want to see justice for every survivor, and we hope his conviction goes some way to providing that. We also want to thank the survivors who have shown considerable bravery in coming forward to tell their story.”

The association said it had been working with the police since being alerted to the investigation. It added it was aware of the allegation against Burrows in 1994 and would be reviewing what actions were taken then.

Judge Everett said he had dealt with other historical abuse cases, but this was one of the most serious.

He told Burrows: “Despite your ridiculous protestations that you were caring for the boys, you only cared for your own selfish and perverted sexual desires.

“You felt a compelling need to sexually assault young boys often in the grossest breach of trust, many of whom were particularly vulnerable over and above their young ages because some had come from difficult and deprived backgrounds.

“They had no one to protect them. No one to speak up for them.”