October 2026

Image accompanying Leon Burton - Stow report

A man accused of raping a child multiple times and perverting the court of justice has been found guilty by jurors.

Leon Burton, previously of St Mary’s Crescent in Stow, had denied three charges of rape and one of perverting the course of justice at a five-day trial at Lincoln Crown Court last week.

But the 37-year-old was judged to have committed the offences by jurors on Friday, 16 October.

Burton had already pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual activity with a child and a separate charge of perverting the course of justice.

The charges relate to a single victim and took place in the Stow area, starting in 2025 and into 2026.

Burton is set to be sentenced later this year on 11 December.

The court heard how police divers and dogs were deployed to locate two mobile phones that officers suspected Burton had disposed of.

These phones were never located but one is believed to have been thrown in the water in Stow and the other Burton admitted to destroying himself.

Burton was arrested and subsequently remanded until he appeared before court officials on Monday, 12 October for trial.