I FORGIVE ...MYSELF
Ex-reality star locked up for exposing himself Teen victim says her mental health is affected
Jeffrey didn’t plead guilty, it made me feel as if I was lying... going to court has been stressful
son of God in a new production of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar and was made understudy.
But his smooth rise to fame faltered when he was accused of multiple crimes and alleged crimes by a number of women and girls in Northern Ireland.
Anderson was first charged with the offences in 2016 but his identity was protected for years due to reporting restrictions, which were finally lifted in May 2020.
He attended Belfast Crown Court in July 2020 and admitted to:
secretly recording women for his own sexual gratification;
sexual assault and assault;
recording 11 females doing a private act, knowing that they did not consent to being recorded, between April 2005 and August 2013;
sexually assaulting one of his victims in 2012;
assaulting another woman, occasioning actual bodily harm, in 2015
For these crimes he was handed a three-year custodial sentence, suspended for three years and placed on the Sexual Offences Prevention Order for 10 years.
The sentence was referred for appeal on the grounds it may be “unduly lenient”.
The Court of Appeal granted leave for the reference but dismissed the application on a number of grounds.
On December 16, 2021, Anderson was jailed for exposing himself in view of a child.
In a statement the victim made regarding what happened, the teenager said the incident has affected her confidence and mental health.
She also said in her statement that the incident made her feel “worried and uncomfortable” and added: “Because Jeffrey didn’t plead guilty it made me feel as if I was lying and also going to court has been stressful.”
Judge Rafferty paid tribute to her and said: “She is clearly an intelligent and determined young woman. I can entirely understand the pride that her parents have in her and how she has conducted herself.
“Having noted how this prosecution has lingered over her for the last four years, now that it’s concluded I can only encourage her to focus on becoming the author of her own life story – a story in which Jeffrey Anderson becomes relegated to a mere footnote.”
Despite the jury’s guilty verdict, Anderson continued to deny the offence.
Judge Rafferty said that while he accepted Anderson has not offended since June 2018, that offence was committed whilst he was on bail and under investigation for the voyeurism charges.
He said the crime was committed close to three schools as an aggravating factor, and highlighted the young age of the schoolgirl at the time – plus the impact the incident has had on her.
As well as being jailed, Anderson was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
He has also been banned from working with children and vulnerable adults.
He will remain on the register until 2031.