Paedophile on 'most wanted' site

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A man who is on the run after being convicted of assaulting a young girl has been added to a list of the UK's most wanted sex offenders.

Stephen Burnell has been missing since February when he was due to appear in court over a string of sex offences.

The 54-year-old was convicted in his absence and sentenced to six years.

Burnell has been put on the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre's most wanted website. He has recently lived in York and North Wales.

Since the website was set up in November last year, eight wanted child sex offenders have been caught.

Burnell, described as 5ft 6in tall with a reddish complexion, disappeared during his trial at York Crown Court.

He was convicted in his absence of charges including attempted rape and indecent assault.

Distinctive tattoos

The offences took place on a nine-year-old girl, the daughter of a couple he befriended, between February 2000 and February 2004.

He had lived in York but had moved to Gwynedd in north-west Wales in the months leading up to the court case.

It has been claimed he may have fled to Ireland. Police said he has a "nomadic" lifestyle.

Burnell has a number of distinctive tattoos including a black panther on his left arm and a skull with a dagger and the words "do or die" on his right arm.

Jim Gamble, from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said: "The most wanted website has proved to be successful in locating eight offenders to date who had gone missing from the authorities.

"We are urging the public to get involved once again to find this individual.

"By working together we can continue to track those offenders who try to avoid being managed by the authorities and protect our communities from harm."