Allan Richards, a former Scout leader and West Midlands officer, convicted of abusing total of 17 children over four decades

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A disgraced former police officer and Scout leader has been convicted of 40 sex offences against children as young as eight in a catalogue of abuse spanning four decades.



Allan Richards, a retired West Midlands police sergeant, twice used his trusted position to lure youngsters to a police station. He attacked his first victim while running a football team as a teenage Scout leader in the 1970s.

Richards, 54, formerly of Birmingham, was convicted at the city’s crown court on Friday of carrying out nine indecent assaults against six boys aged 11 to 15 at camps, swimming baths and other locations between 1982 and 2003.

It can also be reported for the first time that Richards was found guilty earlier this year of a further 31 sex offences against other boys, including two rapes, going back to the 1970s. In all, Richards’ crimes involved 17 victims.

He denied all charges at both trials but was convicted after his diaries and a computer hard drive were found to contain a list of males he was sexually interested in.

It also emerged that he had avoided prosecution in the past after being questioned when allegations first surfaced in 2000 and 2004. A file was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service at the time but it was felt there was not enough evidence to convict, according to the police.

The force said it “removed him from public contact” in 2004, but he remained with the force until he retired in 2011. He was also removed from his post with the Scouts.

Richards was told he would not be prosecuted in January 2005. A fresh investigation was launched in 2014 when another victim came forward, leading to Richards’ convictions.

The force referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in May 2015 over its handling of the earlier investigations.

Speaking after the verdicts, temporary assistant chief constable Alex Murray said West Midlands police had written to apologise to Richards’ victims.

He said opportunities may have been missed to prevent Richards abusing other victims after the 2004 allegations came to light. Of Richards’ victims, six were abused after the police investigation in 2000.

Murray said: “I think if we were able to do a really thorough investigation then there’s a chance we could have safeguarded victims in the future. That’s something the IPCC are looking into.”