Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Sex beast Anderson to face appeal on ‘lenient’ sentence
Court to review suspended term
appeal judges will look at the case and see what I see.
“A suspended sentence is still serious but he put us through years of pain and anguish by denying he’d such a disgusting impact in our lives and all without our knowledge until he finally pleaded guilty to a number of crimes.
“I have always thought of Jeff Anderson as a privileged person, someone who has got very lucky in life.
“But this suspended sentence was a step too far and I want to see the appeal upheld and a more suitable sentence handed down to this man.
“Anyone who can sexually assault an unconscious woman is, in my opinion, dangerous. Anyone who secretly records women for their own thrills, is sick. Anyone who assaults another person needs to face justice. He had done all three and he’s walking free right now.
“As a result I want to see this monster jailed. Then maybe I can move on with my life in the belief that bad deeds attract justice.”
A number of Anderson’s victims told the Mirror they were horrified by the sentence.
Some of the women had been teenagers when he secretly recorded them, a number inside his family’s bathroom in Newtownards.
Two of them were aged under 17 at the time of the crimes.
None were aware he was recording their most intimate moments on a camera he had hidden in various places – including on top of the toilet cistern.
Anderson, who worked on cruise ships as a performer while he awaited trial, has had his images and biogs removed from the branding used by the ships and the groups he sang
YESTERDAY
with. In addition to the suspended sentence, Judge Geoffrey Miller QC also placed Anderson on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and he was made the subject of a 10-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.
The judge spoke of the impact Anderson’s offending has had on the women, who told a “similar story” of their experience with the former TV contestant.
The complainants had described the defendant as portraying himself as outwardly confident and sexually experienced, but who was also controlling and cohersive.
Judge Miller QC said when Anderson’s voyeurism emerged, the women in question felt embarrassed and disgusted at what he did.
Anderson found fame when he appeared on The Voice after years of amateur singing and acting roles.
He gained the nickname “Baby Jesus” while touring in the UK production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
He has been employed writing jingles for his father’s advertising company.
A spokeswoman for the PPS said: “While sentencing is a matter for the judiciary, the Director of Public Prosecutions does have the power to refer particular sentences to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that they may be unduly lenient.
“In this case the Director considered there are sufficient grounds to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.”