Hiding for 30 years in Sweden

After molesting a ten-year-old boy over several years in the 1980s, Briton Glen Langrishe continued to live a life of freedom. But now freedom has come to an end.

The 74-year-old moved to Sweden after abusing the boy. A 13-year international investigation recently yielded results.

Now Langrish, also known as Glenn Stevens, has been jailed for 15 years for the abuse.

Move to Sweden

British police said in a press release that Langrish was working in a workshop when, in 1983, he contacted the ten-year-old boy. The two agreed to meet. It was the beginning of six years of abuse.

The man was imprisoned for further crimes in 1989, but was released again in 1994. He later moved to Sweden and changed his name. It was not until 2011 when the abused boy reported the incident to the police. This was the beginning of a large-scale manhunt for the Briton in many countries.

In 2016, police discovered he was living in Findelsø, outside Stockholm. He subsequently became a Swedish citizen and therefore could not be extradited to Great Britain. Seven years later, police were still able to pounce when the 74-year-old was traveling to Poland.

Doesn't leak

– He can rebuild life

This week, Langrish was sentenced for the abuse he committed in the 1980s. In court, the 51-year-old, who was abused as a boy, told how it affected his life.

– Until I revealed this to my wife, this was my “dirty secret,” something I lived with for 40 years. But it is now known that you are guilty of what you know you did to me. “It took a long time to meet you in court, but now the jury has seen your lies, and I can start rebuilding my life,” the man said during the trial.

Becky Buckley, of police, told the court that Langrich believed he could hide in Sweden and thus escape punishment.

“This investigation should send a clear message to all victims of abuse that we will never give up on our mission to get you the justice you deserve,” Buckley said.