A woman who was sexually abused as a child has hit out after her abuser remains on the streets despite being found guilty more than six months ago.
Robert George David Anderson (76), with an address of Prospect Crescent, Middle Division, Carrickfergus, was found guilty of five charges of indecent assault of one victim at Belfast Crown Court in April.
He had faced trial for nine charges of indecent assault on two victims.
The offences were committed between 1993 and 1997, starting from when the victim was seven years old. Anderson had been a family friend who visited her home regularly.
Anderson remains out on bail after multiple delays to his sentencing, and is scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday 5 November to fix a date for sentencing. He is now a registered sex offender.
Delays in sentencing Anderson have been caused by a number of issues, including the provision of medical records.
Anderson’s abuse was first reported by his victim in 2020, and she told the Irish News the impact on her has been “horrendous”. The woman, who does not wish to be named, says if she had known the length of time it would take to see her abuser sentenced, she would not have reported it.
“It makes me feel really angry and after having to be cross-examined it feels like justice hasn’t been done yet,” she told The Irish News.
“I just feel with the court system itself, it feels like I didn’t matter and if I think to myself would I come forward again, I wouldn’t.
“I felt personally it was more in favour of the perpetrator than the victim, that’s how it made me feel.
“He’s walking around living a relatively free life after he has been convicted of abusing me, it just doesn’t make sense.
“I’m constantly worried when I’m out and about that I might bump into him and what I would do if that happened.
“It’s been six months since he’s been found guilty and he’s still walking around the same person, despite all of those years of guilt that I have gone through.”
“It’s ridiculous that it takes this amount of time, for someone to have to relive that over and over again. I can see why people wouldn’t want to come forward for crimes like that.”
On the impact of Anderson’s abuse of her as a child, she says it is something that she still thinks about every day and was heightened when she had children of her own.
“That was the start of abuse for me and it led me into a life where abuse was normalised,” she says.
“It was only after I had my first baby and I had bad post-natal depression did I really start to address what he did to me.
“I’m now very over protective of my own kids and I don’t trust anyone.”
A spokesperson for the Office of the Lady Chief Justice’s Office said: “A date could not be fixed for sentencing until the court had received the necessary reports. The case is listed to fix a date tomorrow (5 November 2024) in Laganside Courts.”
A decision was first made by the Public Prosecution Service to prosecute the case in July 2023. Acting Head of its Serious Crime Unit, Catherine Kierans, said she recognised the frustrations of the victim in the case, but that sentencing and the scheduling of hearings was “ultimately for the trial judge”.
Ms Kierans said: “The issue of delay cuts across the criminal justice system, and we recognise this can add to a victim’s distress. We work with all our criminal justice partners, including the police, judiciary, courts and the Department of Justice to minimise the impact of delay on victims.
“We commend the courage of this victim in reporting her experiences and going through the criminal justice system, and we recognise she is understandably frustrated that the case has not concluded. Sentencing, including the scheduling of hearings, is ultimately for the trial judge to manage, rather than the PPS.
“The delay in sentencing has arisen primarily due to defence medical reports being awaited. We will continue to keep the victim updated on any further developments. ”
