Law catches up with paedophile fugitive

Nov 13 2007 by Chloe Griffiths, The Journal

A FUGITIVE paedophile was forced to return to the UK after police “cut off all other avenues,” a court heard yesterday.

Musician and former teacher Ronald Heron went on the run in January while half-way through his two-week trial for a string of sex offences against children.

The 58-year-old skipped bail and fled to the Philippines with his internet bride.

But despite his absence, the trial at Newcastle Crown Court continued and he was found guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault and two more serious sex charges against youngsters in the 1970s and 1980s.

Heron, formerly of Stakeford in Northumberland, escaped justice for 10 months, but returned to the country on November 3 when he was re-arrested by officers from Northumbria Police.

Yesterday he was ordered to serve a further nine months on top of his existing nine year sentence, after he admitted breaching his bail on January 18.

Judge Tim Hewitt imposed the sentence after hearing Heron had only returned to the UK after an “enormous police operation” meant he had no other choice.

He said: “You sought to escape justice and doing that at the time you did, near to the conclusion of the trial, you showed the greatest disrespect not only to the court but to the jury.

“Due to that course of action you remained at large for a considerable period of time.

“Circumstances enabling you to stay in the Philippines became increasingly difficult, I am satisfied that you became aware you were being watched by Northumbria Police, who were in contact with the Philippine authorities and you would have been subject to extradition proceedings.”

The court had heard that Heron – who had been allowed to keep his passport during the trial – had fled following his evidence, driving to Durham-Tees Valley Airport where he dumped his car.

Police tracked him to the Philippines following the conclusion of the trial.

Tim Parkin, prosecuting, said: “The truth is that he was traced to Manila, the police knew exactly where he was and they were watching his movements.”

During this investigation, Heron’s wife was also monitored and officers became aware she had returned to the UK to sell their home near York in a bid to obtain more money.

But the court heard officers “took steps” to prevent this from happening, while at the same time preparations were under way to have him extradited.

Mr Parkin said: “The defendant had all avenues closed to him by the way the police carried out that operation. He had no choice but to surrender himself.”

It was at this point, Mr Parkin said that Heron made contact with the police and arranged to voluntarily travel back to the UK, rather than be arrested and taken to a Filipino jail.

Wearing a light grey suit, pink shirt and red and blue tie, Heron looked relaxed and chatted to his legal team during the hearing yesterday.

He instructed his barrister Andrew Lees to tell the court he had the money and resources to stay in the South-East Asian country, but had come back to “face what had to be faced.”

Heron will now have to sign the sex offenders register.

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Police 'would have left no stone unturned' in manhunt for Heron

POLICE who led the international manhunt for paedophile Ronald Heron yesterday said they would have left “no stone unturned”.

Detective Inspector Chris Walker, of the child abuse unit, led the investigation to bring the former music teacher back to the country.

He was among those waiting at Heathrow Airport to arrest him as he touched down from Manila. He said: “We take a very robust view with all sex offenders, but for someone to abscond and try to get away with it, we would have left no stone unturned to find him.”

In January Heron was found guilty in his absence of one count of serious sexual assault, one of attempted sexual assault and 10 of indecent assault on three boys and a girl, aged between 11 and 14, during the 1970s and 1980s. During the two-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court the jury heard his victims had been groomed for abuse.

It emerged that Heron would take children for rides in his Rolls Royce and plane which was kept at Eshott Airfield near Morpeth. One victim told how he was molested in the cockpit of the two-seater aircraft. Giving evidence, Heron, who taught in Cramlington and Alnwick, admitted having three-in-a-bed sex with one victim, but claimed this was only after the boy was 18. A graduate of the London College of Music, Heron was described as a “dashing” music master, pilot and sports car enthusiast when he staged the sex attacks.