A rapist who fled the country in a desperate bid to evade justice is now facing a lengthy prison sentence – thanks to the bravery of his victim and the determination of detectives.
Thomasz Kowalkowski, aged 46, fled to Sicily after he was accused by of committing multiple sexual offences against a girl.
Kowalkowski was arrested and questioned in July 2019 and, after a thorough police investigation, was charged with multiple offences 12 months later.
After he failed to appear at his initial court hearing in November 2020, a warrant was issued for his arrest and intelligence specialists at Nottinghamshire Police began a determined hunt for him.
After reviewing flight records it was established that he had left the UK on a flight to Palermo, Sicily the previous month, although nothing more was known of his whereabouts.
Kowalkowski, who was living in Nottingham at the time of his offending, was eventually tracked to a town in the in the south of the island following international liaison enquiries with Italian authorities.
Financial enquires were undertaken and it was established he had regularly used the same bank machine to withdraw money.
In order to secure an international warrant for his arrest, detectives worked to present a ‘court ready’ case against him – racing against time to gather all the evidence they needed before he moved on.
In September 2021 he was eventually arrested by Italian police as he was using the same cash machine. He was extradited back to the UK two weeks later and remanded into custody.
During a seven-day trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Kowalkowski claimed his victim was making up the allegations against him and insisted he had flown to Sicily only to care for a sick relative.
On Thursday (24 March) he was found guilty by majority verdict of one count of rape, three counts of sexual assault, three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Kowalkowsk, who was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on 6 May, has been warned to expect a significant jail sentence.
Detective Constable Hayley Denoon, of Nottinghamshire Police, led the investigation. She said: “Kowalkowski is devious and calculating sexual predator who repeatedly targeted a vulnerable child. Unsurprisingly his appalling actions have had a hugely negative impact on her life and I hope this verdict brings her at least some degree of closure.
“She and her family have shown enormous courage and dignity throughout this process and I am just so relieved for them that Kowalkowski has now been brought to justice.
“I remember how upset they were when they thought he had escaped justice so I am also hugely grateful to my colleague International Liaison Officer Julie Randall in our intelligence team for her outstanding work on this case.
“She was absolutely relentless in her pursuit of this man and left no stone unturned in the hunt for him.
“I hope this case serves as a warning to others who think they can evade justice in this way. We won’t simply give up on you; we will do whatever it takes to hunt you down and bring you to justice.”
