Richard Burrows, an 83-year-old former scoutmaster, has had part of his prison sentence removed following a court review. Burrows was convicted earlier this year and sentenced to 46 years for historic sexual offences committed over decades, between the late 1960s and the mid-1990s. The offences involved children in his care, with prosecutors and court findings describing abuse of 24 boys.
According to the reports, Burrows had fled and spent many years on the run, including time in Thailand, before being brought back and sentenced. The later development reported by both outlets is that nine years have been taken off his jail term after an apparent “judge’s error,” as described in coverage. The specific basis for the sentence reduction is not detailed in the provided excerpts.
The overall reporting is consistent that Burrows’ original 46-year sentence is reduced by nine years, and that the conviction relates to repeated offences against 24 boys over a long period ending in the mid-1990s.
