Fourth Brit Arrested in Spain on Charges of Sex Abuse

A British man from Bradford in West Yorkshire, who is wanted on sex abuse charges in the UK, was arrested last week by the National Police in Benidorm. It’s the fourth such strike by authorities in Alicante Province in recent weeks against UK nationals accused of sex crimes who have been trying to hide under the radar in Spain.

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The arrest was actually last week on 30 November under a European Arrest Warrant for a series of crimes including sexual assault, after he had been on the run for 11 weeks, after breaking bail conditions set by a Wiltshire court. Craig Shaw, aged 37, is accused of sexually abusing two brothers aged 14 and 16 years on 22 occasions between 2007 and 2010 in Swindon and Blackpool.

He had made friends with the parents of the victims, who then left him in the company of their sons, unaware of what he was doing to them, a statement from the National Police reported.

He also faces other charges of serious sexual assault against a man in Swindon in 2009 and over failing to notify the police of a change of address. He is further charged with contacting a child under the age of 16 in 2010 contrary to the terms of a sexual offences prevention order.

The National Police said they discovered child pornography at Shaw’s Benidorm address following his arrest, which then led to an appearance at a Madrid extradition court hearing.