IAN BOWER, FORMER DERBYSHIRE POLICE OFFENDER, REARRESTED IN CANTERBURY

In February 2014, Ian Bower, a former police special constable from Derbyshire and a convicted pedophile, was reapprehended at Gatwick Airport after fleeing to Cambodia and continuing to commit similar crimes. Derbyshire Police detectives detained him upon his arrival and returned him to custody. Bower, aged 48 at the time, was previously sentenced in September 2004 to 78 months in prison for sexual offenses against children and the possession of indecent images. Although released on license to a Derby probation hostel, he absconded and traveled to Cambodia, where in 2012 he was sentenced to two years for offenses involving minors. Deportation by Cambodian authorities, linked to passport violations, led to his return to the UK. Recently, in December 2013, it emerged that Bower, who originally hails from Ilkeston, had been jailed for molesting five boys aged between 11 and 15, paying them as little as eight pence for sex while showing them pornography on his phone, and subsequently was set to be deported. However, an appeal in Cambodia allowed him to stay because he had a family there, and he was released in November 2013, after which he disappeared. UK authorities have been trying to locate him for years; he first fled a Derby bail hostel in 2006 after early release from a three-year nine-month sentence for abuse and child exploitation images. Despite international efforts, there's no extradition treaty between the UK and Cambodia, complicating his return. Campaign groups like Action Pour Les Enfants have condemned the UK government’s inaction, emphasizing Bower’s dangerous profile and the absence of treatment opportunities in Cambodian prisons. Detective Superintendent Andy Stoke from Derbyshire Police expressed disappointment over the failed attempt to repatriate him, stating, "We continue to work with NCA and Southeast Asian authorities to locate Bower and bring him back. We are in contact with his victims and keeping them updated." Bower’s history includes multiple convictions; after fleeing Derby in 2006, he was involved in numerous child sex offenses in Cambodia, including paying minors for sex and attempting to manipulate the legal process there. The 2012 Cambodian court sentenced him to two years for bribery and indecent acts. Human rights organizations like ECPAT UK have criticized the UK government for not securing his deportation sooner, citing the potential ongoing risk he poses. Bower’s activities in Cambodia included working as an English teacher and engaging in inappropriate conduct with minors, which was reported multiple times to authorities—initially leading to his detention and later release due to lack of evidence or withdrawn statements. Despite his criminal history, efforts to extradite him have been hampered by legal and diplomatic obstacles, leaving Bower free abroad as of his last arrest. His case highlights ongoing challenges in protecting children across borders and underscores the importance of international cooperation in child protection.