Police catch on-the-run child rapist who escaped prison staff while on escorted leave in city centre
A convicted child rapist who absconded from prison staff during escorted leave in Perth city centre has been recaptured following a police manhunt. Cliff Lyons Dobbie, who has been detained since 1990 as a restricted patient, went missing on Thursday, prompting Police Scotland to appeal to the public not to approach him. He was found safe on Saturday, with officers confirming the search assisted by NHS Tayside had ended successfully.
Dobbie was jailed in 1990 for raping a 10-year-old girl in Glasgow and sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy in a field, and has since been held in secure facilities including the State Hospital in Carstairs. At the time of his disappearance, police described him as a white man of around 5ft 3in with a strong Glaswegian accent, last seen wearing a black baseball cap, ripped light blue jeans, a salmon-coloured golf shirt and carrying a black backpack. No details have been released about how he managed to escape his escorts, and NHS Tayside has declined to comment further, citing patient confidentiality.
In short
- Escaped child rapist Cliff Lyons Dobbie recaptured after Perth manhunt
- He fled prison staff during escorted leave on Thursday
- Detained since 1990; no details given on how he escaped
Explained simply
Cliff Lyons Dobbie was convicted in 1990 of raping a 10-year-old girl and sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy. He has been held in secure facilities since then as a restricted patient, a person detained for treatment under legal controls.
Escorted leave allows a detained patient to leave a secure setting with staff supervision. Police Scotland and NHS Tayside were involved in the search after Dobbie went missing in Perth city centre; the case raised questions about how secure supervision works, though authorities have not released details of what happened.