A child rapist is among more than 1,000 suspected and convicted criminals wanted after skipping court bail in Greater Manchester.
Tariq Javed (pictured above) was found guilty in his absence and is now on the run.
He fled Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court in February, moments before he was convicted of raping a child.
Javed was due to be sentenced on March 21, but the judge decided not to sentence in his absence because of the possibility of an extended licence - which are usually handed to more serious offenders.
The case was adjourned until April 25, when again did not appear.
Javed, 38, of Aspinall Street, Rusholme , was found guilty of five counts of sexual activity with a child, and two counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration.
He is known to have links with the Stockport and Manchester areas of Greater Manchester, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Thousands of suspects and offenders who jumped court bail while facing charges including murder, child sex offences and rape are also dodging justice.
Figures obtained under a Freedom of Information request show more than 13,000 people are subject to outstanding arrest warrants in England, with the oldest dating back to 1980.
The Home Office said it was up to individual police forces to monitor outstanding warrants.
There are 13,492 known warrants outstanding.
The Metropolitan Police had the highest number with 1,835. Greater Manchester, West Midlands and West Yorkshire police also had more than 1,000 each.
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Among the crimes people had been accused or convicted of are murder, sexual assault, rape, grievous bodily harm, drugs offences and child abuse.
Deputy Chief Constable Gary Knighton, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Criminal Justice Performance, said police take a “risk based approach” to executing warrants based on the severity of the offence.
He said the most serious offences are prioritised, adding wanted people are circulated on the Police National Computer.
A Home Office spokesman said: “It is a matter for individual forces to monitor all outstanding warrant cases and be accountable for when warrants are not executed.”
GMP were contacted by the MEN for a response.
