A former RUC officer has been found guilty at Belfast Crown Court of sexually abusing a teenage boy in the 1980s.
After deliberating for under an hour, the jury unanimously found 91-year old Albert Burns guilty on seven counts of indecent assault.
The former Criminal Investigation Department officer in the RUC was excused from attending the trial following an assessment that his dementia rendered him incapable of attending or understanding the trial process.
Burns, with an address at Carnmoney Road in Newtownabbey, was charged with seven offences which were committed over dates between January 3rd, 1987 and January 4th, 1989. He had denied the charges.
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During the short trial, the jury heard that Burns targeted the teenager over a two-year period when the victim was aged between 13 and 15. The abuse occurred in the bedroom and bathroom of the boy’s Co Antrim home.
At the time, he did not disclose what was happening to him as Burns told him he would not be believed. He subsequently told a friend before reporting the matter to the PSNI in 2019.
During an interview with police, the victim spoke of what he endured in his teens and said that as a child he was afraid of his abuser.
As a result of the complainant’s allegations, Burns was interviewed by the PSNI in July 2020 when he denied the claims, which he branded as a “bundle of lies” and “made up”.
Before the jury was sent out to deliberate, defence barrister Neil Moore pointed out that his client Burns had a clear criminal record and was a “man of good character.” He added that there were “no witnesses” and “no forensic evidence” and urged the jury to exercise “some caution.”
The jury returned verdicts that Burns ‘did the act’ on all seven counts.
Judge Gordon Kerr then dismissed the jury and adjourned the case until March 5 “for determination.”
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