Carrickfergus man jailed for child sexual abuse reflects strict sentencing

Robert George David Anderson, a 76-year-old former Merchant Navy seaman from Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, was convicted of sexually abusing a female child at various locations between 1993 and 1997. The offenses included abusing her while she played in a garden, at a local swimming pool, and after she fell on his driveway near his house. Anderson was arrested in 2019 after police were alerted about the sexual misconduct. He denied the charges but was found guilty following a jury trial at Belfast Crown Court. The initial sentence of 18 months was deemed unduly lenient, and after a legal challenge by the Public Prosecution Service, the Court of Appeal increased his prison time to three years. His sentence now also includes indefinite registration on the sex offenders’ register and he remains subject to certain legal restrictions. Senior judges emphasized that his age and health issues, including severe psoriasis and depression, did not warrant a reduction in sentencing, leading to the increased sentence and his prolonged registration as a sex offender.