A sex offender convicted of eight offences of voyeurism while on the run will finally be placed behind bars after he was caught by officers in the USA.
Andrew Ferris was sentenced to 21 months in prison and placed on the sex offenders register in his absence at Lincoln Crown Court on September 23, 2014.
A crown court bench warrant was issued for his arrest and, over a year on, Lincolnshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service tracked down the voyeur across the Atlantic.
Ferris, 39 and from the East Lothian area in Scotland, was detained by the US Marshals Service and will be extradited back to the UK on December 22.
He will appear before Lincoln Crown Court on December 23.
Head of Lincolnshire Police Public Protection Unit, Detective Superintendent Richard Hatton said: “Andrew Ferris has been traced by our managing sex offenders and violent offenders (MOSOVO) team, extradited and will now serve his prison sentence.
“We work hard to keep people safe, support victims and convict offenders.
“Perpetrators should know we will not stop looking for them and bring them to justice.”
September 2015
Case dropped against convicted sex offender on the run
A CONVICTED sex offender who had been accused of indecently assaulting three girls in the 1990s has had the case against him dropped after he went on the run.
Andrew Ferris, 39, had been due to go before a jury last year but failed to turn up for the hearing at Swindon Crown Court.
And the judge who had been due to preside over the trial rejected an application by the Crown for it to take place in his absence.
Now the three complainants have said they no longer want to pursue their allegations as the man they say abused them is still on the run.
Ferris, who was convicted in his absence of sex offences at Lincoln Crown Court, had pleaded not guilty to eight counts of indecent assault.
It was alleged that he repeatedly molested the three teenagers in the Penhill area between 1989 and 2001.
Hannah Squire, prosecuting, said: “Mr Ferris is now living in America. There are lots of things that are unfortunate about this case, the most being I am in a position to offer no evidence.
“It was listed for trial nearly two years ago. Three extremely nice young women who all gave details of abuse they suffered at the hands of Mr Ferris as teenagers cam along. I applied for a trial in his absence. It was refused.
“He had a matter outstanding in Lincoln and he was convicted in his absence there. I don’t know where the difficulty is, I have been trying to get it listed in his absence.
“The three complainant have each come to the end of their tether. They have been waiting around too long. A decision has been made not to force them to court.”
Judge Peter Blair QC asked if she was seeking for the counts to lie on file so they could be resurrected should he return to the UK.
But Miss Squire said: “My understanding is they want and end to it. It is with great reluctance it is the Crown offering no evidence in this case.
“If it were to lie on file then they will not have the closure and will have the feeling that it is still there.
“Being fair to them and their wishes it is what I ask the court to do.”
She said he had been sentenced to 18 months in Lincoln last year for voyeurism and other matters.
After hearing the request the judge entered formal not guilty verdicts on all of the counts and cancelled the warrant for his arrest.
Should he return to the UK he will be picked up at the airport and taken to serve the jail term imposed by a judge in Lincoln.
Ferris, who told the court he was living in East Lothian, Scotland, entered his not guilty pleas at Swindon Crown Court in February 2013.
It is believed he left the country a month or so before his trial was due to start at the end of November that year.
An earlier hearing was told Judge Euan Ambrose decided against a trial in absence having heard the defendant may have mental health issues.
Although prosecutors looked into getting him extradited to face the allegations he has not been found and returned.
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