A man who tried to con people into believing he had committed suicide has been convicted of indecent assault against a girl under the age of 14.
Leslie Andrews, from Blackpool, was charged with 15 offences, which he denied, during a trial at Preston Crown Court.
The 54-year-old, of no fixed address, was found guilty of all but one charge and faces sentencing on 28 June.
The offences took place between 1997 and 2002, but Andrews was not arrested until May 2010 after mysteriously disappearing eight years earlier.
He left a suicide note in his car, which he abandoned close to Pontins in Blackpool, and went on the run.
Inspector Tony Baxter, Head of the Public Protection Unit at Blackpool Police said: “Andrews has always denied these offences and has never shown any remorse for what he has done.
“Andrews made a determined effort to make people believe he was dead. However, since his disappearance in 2002, we have never stopped looking for him.
“Andrews has never been declared dead in any official capacity. For several years after his disappearance he was considered vulnerable due to the circumstances of his disappearance and Lancashire Police ran a protracted missing from home enquiry. After this failed to locate him he was circulated as wanted and his case was reviewed regularly until his arrest last year.
“Andrews did everything possible to hide his true identity and evade capture. He never went to the doctor, dentist, obtained a driving license or paid taxes in his real name. He adopted the name of Christopher Trent and lived in Yorkshire where for almost eight years. He had never been arrested or come to the attention of the authorities for any reason.
“His victim has spent the last eight years not knowing if he is dead or alive or if she would ever get justice for what he has put her through. A young woman now, she has conducted herself with tremendous dignity throughout these proceedings and I hope with Andrews convicted she can finally move on with her life and put these awful events behind her.”
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