There was no acknowledgement of the victim’s concerns over the sentencing of Robert Anderson in Court 15 in Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday.
Anderson (76) was convicted in April of four counts of indecent assault and one count of penetration, who was aged between seven and 11 at the time of the crimes.
On Tuesday he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, having had his sentence halved due to his age and medical issues, including psoriasis and depression.
In Tuesday’s Irish News, his victim bravely told her story after almost seven months had passed between Anderson being found guilty of the abuse and sentence being passed.
In fact, the case was originally listed to “fix a date” for sentencing on Tuesday 5 November. However, after queries from the Irish News and the publication of the victim’s story, Anderson was sentenced at the hearing.
In a statement ahead of the sentencing, the Public Prosecution Service said sentencing and the scheduling of hearings was “ultimately for the trial judge”, while in a short statement the Lady Chief Justice’s Office said “a date could not be fixed for sentencing until the court had received the necessary reports”.
What prompted the sudden expedition of the case was not mentioned in court, while the Pulbic Prosecution Service and the Lady Chief Justice’s Office did not elaborate when asked for further details following the sentencing hearing.
The LCJ Office said: “While the case was listed on the court system as being to fix a date for sentencing, it was in fact listed for sentence – the prosecution and defence were aware of this.”
While Judge Gordon Kerr KC told the court he had been given no alternative to an immediate custodial sentence for Anderson, a “significant discount” was “appropriate” to the three years prison sentence.
Anderson was given what the judge referred to as “personal discount” due to his age and medical conditions, which include psoriasis and a diagnosis of depression.
A significant part of the delay in sentencing in the case was due to the provision of medical records for Mr Anderson due to those issues.
After the sentence was passed down, Anderson was led away to serve his prison sentence.
Speaking after the victim, a young woman who only felt able to report the abuse until after she the sentencing, became a mother herself, described the sentence as a “kick in the teeth”.
Sexual abuse victims charity Nexus said the lengthy wait for Anderson to be sentenced was “not acceptable”, while Justice Minister Naomi Long said she recognised the “difficult and distressing time” endured by the victim in the case.
Ms Long said she was “very conscious” of the impact of delays, which she described as one of the biggest challenges facing her department and the wider criminal justice system.
Based on this case and the experience of the victim, few would argue but the real question around whether it can be addressed or not remains to be seen.
