December 2016: Burgin has died of terminal cancer

July 2015: Burgin has now been released from Wakefield prison on parole because of poor health. Now living in Sheffield

July 2009

Past catches up with runaway paedophile

A paedophile who changed his name and went on the run for ten years before grooming another victim has been branded a danger to young teenage boys

David Burgin, 47, of High Street, Clapham, who changed his name to David Tyler was given an indefinite sentence for public protection at Luton Crown Court on Thursday.

He must serve a minimum sentence of six years before being able to apply for parole.

The court heard that in the early 1980s Burgin befriended a 12-year-old boy in Sheffield who he later sexually abused.

The victim did not tell anyone until he was 29 when he feared Burgin was forming a relationship with another youth.

Burgin was due to stand trial in 1999 at Sheffield Crown Court but disappeared. He moved to Bedfordshire and changed his identity.

In 2004 he got a job as a barman at The Hockey Centre in Chester Road, Bedford, and met a 12-year-old boy there.

Prosecuting Beverley Cripps said the grooming followed a similar pattern. “He showed a fatherly interest in the boy and people thought it was a very caring relationship but underneath the surface there was the sexual offending.” 

That victim also contacted police because he believed Burgin was targeting another 12- year-old boy.

Burgin pleaded guilty to buggery and indecent assault between 1985 and 1987 and four charges of sexual activity with a boy under 16 between 2005 and 2008.

Dee Connolly, defending said: “The clearest sign of his remorse and contrition is his pleas of guilty. He has shown a willingness to change and receive treatment for his sexual offending and will attend any courses on his release.” 

She said he had been involved in raising £285,000 for a sports foundation charity in Bedfordshire.

Judge John Bevan QC told Burgin: “I am wholly satisfied you present a long-term danger to boys aged between 12 and 16.” 

After the sentencing, Det Con Roy Bennet of the Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “Tyler showed all the traits of a sexual predator of children grooming his victims beforehand and making their families believe he was a friend.

“I’d like to thank the boy in this case for coming forward. He should be proud of himself for having such courage and for preventing serious harm to another family.” 

Burgin will be on the Sex Offenders’ register for life and his contact with young people will be banned by a life long Sexual Offences Prevention Order. He is currently serving a ten month sentence for absconding.