JUSTIN BUTTERWORTH FROM SALFORD SENTENCED IN 2008 FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AND FLEEING JUSTICE

In October 2008, a convicted paedophile who had fled the UK to Brazil while awaiting trial was sentenced to three years in prison. Justin Butterworth, 31, disappeared in 2007 while awaiting trial on charges of abusing a young child. It was later revealed that he had traveled to South America with the intention of marrying a Brazilian woman and was refusing to return to Britain, maintaining contact with his solicitor via email.

Butterworth was convicted in absentia in September 2008 of one count of child sexual assault. He was eventually apprehended when he returned to England to attend his brother's birthday party in Salford in July. Police responded to the event after disturbances and, during checks on attendees, identified and arrested Butterworth.

Bolton Crown Court heard that the sexual assault occurred in March 2006 when Butterworth followed his young victim into a bathroom at her father’s flat. His last known address was Bairro Jaragua, Uberlandia, Brazil. He was sentenced to two years and six months for the assault and an additional six months for failing to attend court while he was abroad.

Butterworth was caught at his brother’s birthday celebration in Salford, linked to the March 2006 attack, where he was identified following police checks. Evidence indicated that Butterworth knew the victim’s father and had followed her into the bathroom where the abuse took place.

Upon release from prison, Butterworth will be required to register as a sex offender for life, be subject to a lifelong Sexual Offences Prevention Order, and be permanently disqualified from working with children. Judge Steven Everett stated that the sexual assault appeared to involve 'an element of potential thrill-seeking.' He remarked, 'Firstly, albeit briefly, you targeted a little girl who obviously knew you well and trusted you. You abused her trust, you abused the trust of her father.'

He continued, 'You disappeared before the trial and even denied the offence before that, so the case had to proceed without your admission. You can receive therefore no credit for a guilty plea, although you are subsequently admitting the offence.' The judge emphasized, 'The message must go out that for those who abuse trust and sexually abuse children, especially such a young girl, a custodial sentence is inevitable.'

Outside the court, Detective Sergeant Keith Isherwood of Bolton’s Child Protection Unit commented that Butterworth had 'been trying to flee justice because he couldn’t admit his guilt.' He added, 'Wherever you go, you’re not going to escape justice and when you come back, you will be dealt with.'