Escaped serial child rapist still on the run in Leeds

Sean Cawthray, 41, formerly of Kippax, has not been seen since he disappeared from an open prison in Gloucestershire on Sunday, December 30.

Members of the public have been advised not to approach him and instead dial 999 in the event of a suspected sighting.

Det Insp Jill Kells, of South Gloucestershire CID, said: “Our efforts to locate Sean Cawthray continue and we will be working tirelessly until he is apprehended and returned to prison.

“We have not had any confirmed sightings so far and we continue to appeal for anyone who knows where he is to get in touch with us.”

Cawthray is about 5ft 10in tall and of medium build, with brown hair and blue eyes.

When he was last seen, he was wearing silver-coloured trainers, cream combat trousers and a light blue Helly Hansen-style top.

He may also have been wearing either a workman’s fluorescent jacket or a black coat with a blue patch.

Cawthray was jailed for life in 2002 for abducting a 14-year-old schoolgirl from a bus stop in Station Road, Kippax.

After asking his victim for the time, he grabbed her by the hair and began dragging her down a back alley leading to a secluded beck.

The girl’s struggles were spotted by a little boy, who ran to tell his grandfather what he had witnessed. The grandfather rushed to the scene and shouted at Cawthray, causing him to flee.

Cawthray had previously been locked up in 1990 for raping a 15-year-old girl in Leeds.

He was jailed again in 1993 after another rape conviction, this time over an attack in the Leicester area.