Co Antrim pensioner jailed for sexually assaulting teenage girl – Irish News

A CO Antrim pensioner who indecently assaulted a teenage girl has been jailed.

Robert George David Anderson (76), of Prospect Crescent, Carrickfergus, was found guilty by a jury of a total of five offences.

At the end of a Belfast Crown Court trial in April, the jury found the former Merchant Navy sailor guilty of four counts of indecent assault on the girl and one count of digital penetration.

The prosecution stated that the crimes were committed between May 1993 and November 1997.

The victim was between 7 and 11 years old at the time and the defendant was in his mid-to-late 40s.

The court heard Anderson would let the girl play in his garden with a younger male friend and would give them sweets and chocolates. The jury heard he took the victim swimming at Carrick Leisure Center and indecently assaulted her in the pool.

On another occasion, when he visited her home, he invited her onto his lap and assaulted her indecently.

In another incident, a jury was told the victim fell into the driveway and he brought her into the kitchen and attacked her.

The prosecution said Anderson never returned to his home after this incident and only spoke to police about the sexual contact in 2019.

Anderson was later interviewed by detectives and denied the allegations.

In a pre-sentence report, the Parole Board said Anderson still did not accept responsibility for his behaviour.

He also denied having any sexual attraction to children and claimed he was the victim.

The parole officer considered Anderson a low-priority category for supervision when he is released from prison, but added that he does not pose a future danger to the public.

Anderson suffers from severe psoriasis, mental health issues and depression, defense attorney Brian McCartney KC told the court on Tuesday.

He said he provided the court with a reference from a retired attorney who said he had never heard any “negative remarks” about Anderson toward children during his years of practicing law.

The court heard Anderson worked in the Merchant Navy for 15 years before being medically discharged in 1989 at the age of 42 and never again.

Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the victim was “a very young girl and the defendant a mature man and these were a series of offenses rather than a single individual offence”.

Judge Kerr said he took into account Anderson’s physical and mental problems and his clear criminal record when determining the appropriate sentence.

Sentenced to 18 months in prison, Anderson was placed on the sex offenders register for a period of ten years and was also the subject of a five-year restraining order against his victim.