In 2018, the Offender Database recorded that 64-year-old Robert Ewing, a convicted child killer, was jailed for a further 14 years for historical abuse. Ewing—formerly of Kincraig Place, Blackpool, Lancashire—was sentenced at Preston Crown Court following his conviction for indecently assaulting a young boy and committing child cruelty against the same boy and a young girl in the Hereford area during the early 1990s. It was reported that the investigation into these non-recent crimes proceeded while Ewing was already serving a life sentence for the 2007 murder of 15-year-old Paige Chivers.
The investigation into the historical abuse established that Ewing was a brutal and sadistic bully who terrorised children as young as five. Preston Crown Court heard that the then 64-year-old had a “catalogue of vile physical and sexual abuse” hidden behind a facade that appeared “charming and beguiling” to other adults. The prosecution reported that Ewing’s previous convictions included a 12-month term in 1995 for gross indecency and indecent assault, an experience that drove him to murder Paige Chivers to prevent her from reporting his further sexual exploitation of her.
Judicial Findings and Investigative Detail
The court reported that the investigation into Paige Chivers’ disappearance was severely hampered by a catastrophic police error, where her age was wrongly logged as 45 instead of 15, leading to a 12-day delay in the missing person search. Preston Crown Court heard that Paige’s body has never been found, though forensic evidence including three tiny spots of blood in Ewing’s Blackpool flat and a covert recording of him discussing using a “hammer over the head” secured his murder conviction in 2015. The investigation established that Ewing’s latest victims in Hereford had their childhoods stolen for his “depraved desires.”
Judge Philip Parry presided over the 2018 sentencing, labelling Ewing a “monster” and “evil incarnate.” For his actions in Hereford and Blackpool, Ewing was handed a 14-year prison sentence to run alongside his existing life term. The judge noted that because of the minimum 33-year term imposed for murder, the then 64-year-old will not be eligible for parole until he is 92, effectively ensuring he will spend the rest of his life behind bars for his persistent and predatory history of child abuse and homicide.
Status and Statutory Requirements
For the records reported in Lancashire and Herefordshire, the status of Robert Ewing as of April 6, 2026, was as follows:
- Custodial Status: SERVING (Life sentence with 33-year minimum for murder plus 14 years for abuse; sentenced 2015/2018; currently incarcerated).
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification requirements are active for life.
- Earliest Release: 2048 (Ewing will be aged 92).
- DBS Status: Placed on the Barring List (Indefinite ban on working with children).
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Murder; Indecent assault; Child cruelty; Gross indecency; Multiple counts).
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Preston Crown Court; investigated by Lancashire Police and West Mercia Police.
- Criminal Record: Murder of a 15-year-old (Paige Chivers); Historical abuse of two children in Hereford; Historical 1995 conviction for assault on a teen girl.
- Origin: Kincraig Place, Blackpool, Lancashire.
Monitoring and Public Protection
Ewing is managed as a maximum-risk Category 3 offender within the high-security prison estate and remains a priority for the Lancashire Police Public Protection Unit. Due to the nature of his conduct—specifically the murder of a child to conceal sexual crimes and his documented history of “sadistic bullying”—his management is a critical priority. Authorities state that his history of making anonymous calls to police to misdirect investigations confirms he is a highly manipulative and dangerous predator.
As a registered sex offender for life, the then 64-year-old’s details are permanently logged on the national police database. Authorities state that his 2018 conviction for historical abuse added further protection for his surviving victims, ensuring that any parole hearing in the distant future will have a complete record of his lifelong predatory behaviour. Any eventual release on licence would involve the most stringent supervision ever mandated in the UK. However, given his age and the length of his minimum term, he remains securely removed from the public to prevent any further risk of life-threatening harm to children.
QUESTION – Given that the police accidentally logged the victim’s age as 45 instead of 15, resulting in a 12-day delay in the murder investigation, do you believe that “Administrative Negligence” in missing child cases should be treated as a criminal offence for the officers involved?
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