Runaway Bosham man jailed for child sex offences

Colin Richard Shearing, aged 70, fled to France after a jury convicted him of twice sexually assaulting a six year old girl in the 1980s while he was living in Pembrokeshire.

He failed to attend his sentencing hearing at Swansea Crown Court and instead moved between hotels in Paris.

On April 17 Judge Huw Davies sentenced him to three years in prison in his absence and issued a European wide warrant for his arrest.

Today, Shearing, of Taylors Lane, Bosham, was back before the same judge to be sentenced to an additional 21 days in jail after he admitted failing to surrender himself to the court on the day stipulated.

Shearing, an author who said he was once active in Theatr Mwdlan, Cardigan, had denied the original charges.

Patrick Griffiths, prosecuting, said it was now known that Shearing had bought ferry tickets for France on April 10, the very day he had been convicted and allowed seven days by Judge Davies to put his affairs in order before being jailed.

He travelled to France on April 12, returned to the UK on May 5 and handed himself to police in Swansea on May 11.

Shearing’s barrister, Tracey Lloyd-Nesling, said Shearing had travelled to France to find the man he blamed for carrying out the assaults for which he, Shearing, had been convicted.

Miss Lloyd-Nesling said Shearing had managed to extract a confession from that man, who now lived in France.

And he had returned to the UK via Newhaven without being stopped, despite the arrest warrant having been circulated.

Judge Davies said he was unable to take that explanation into account as it ran contrary to the findings of the jury.

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