NORTH Yorkshire police are hunting a registered sex offender who has been on the run for 19 months – but they refuse to reveal his identity.

A worldwide hunt is continuing as North Yorkshire Police try to track down the man, who is believed to have fled the UK, but no appeal for information or picture of him is to be placed in the public domain. North Yorkshire Police say they took the decision and chose to stand by it following a review by senior officers yesterday because they want to protect the victim from the distress of seeing the attacker’s face.

But groups supporting those who have fallen prey to sex offenders have criticised forces who withhold such information.

It is not the first time the North Yorkshire force has refused to reveal the identity of a sex attacker.

Stephen Burnell, 54, disappeared halfway through his trial at York Crown Court in February 2007, when he faced various charges of sexual offences against a young girl over a four-year period.

But despite being unable to find Burnell, who used to live in the South Bank area of York, police refused to release his picture, despite repeated requests from The Press, until he had been missing for five months.

Speaking about the latest sex offender to go on the run, who is from the Scarborough area, a spokesman said: “We are continuing to make inquiries into the location of the missing man. It is strongly believed that he has left the country.

“The investigation to trace the individual is still ongoing and for operational reasons it is inappropriate to release his details.”

A spokesman for the Na-tional Victims’ Association also said such offenders should be identified, adding: “We are staggered police have refused to release the names and images of these dangerous sex offenders who may be living in our own communities.”