May 18, 2013 1.17 pm This story is over 130 months old

Lincolnshire prison absconder charged with indecent exposure, burglary and knifepoint robbery

Ivan Leach aka Lee Cyrus: Lincolnshire open prison absconder on the run for almost two months has been charged with 13 offences.
CCTV sightings of Ivan Leach, aka Lee Cyrus, on the run.

A man who absconded from an open prison in Lincolnshire for almost two months has been charged with 13 offences, including indecent exposure in the county, burglaries and knifepoint robbery.

Ivan Leach (48), also known as Lee Cyrus, of no fixed address and originally from the Preston area, absconded from North Sea Camp open prison in Boston in October 2012. He was serving a life sentence for assaulting and robbing a 90-year-old woman in Ribbleton, Lancashire.

After a nation-wide manhunt, Leach was arrested in December in the Camden area of London. Metropolitan Police charged Leach on May 16 with offences including indecent exposure, GBH, aggravated burglary and knifepoint robbery.

He will appear in court in London on May 22, charged with six incidents of indecent exposure, two of which occurred in September 2012 in Lincolnshire and four in October in Camden.

Leach was also charged with a knifepoint robbery in Haringey in November, as well as two counts of grievous bodily harm and one of actual bodily harm in Camden, plus a residential and aggravated burglary.

Criminal history

  • Jailed in 1984 for seven years for robbing and burgling a 79 year-old woman in her sheltered accommodation flat, and striking her in the face and body with his fists;
  • Jailed in 1999 for 14 months after admitting unlawful sex with a 13 year-old girl who said he had spiked her drink and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the incident;
  • Jailed in 2005 for robbing a 90 year-old woman. He was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of five years. He also has convictions for burglary and robbery and assault.