A former George Town man jailed for five years on historical paedophilia charges is appealing the verdict and his sentence to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Hobart today.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bruce Paton Anderson, 61, was found guilty by a jury last year of four counts of indecent assault between 2003 and 2006 committed against an 11-year-old girl and one of aggravated sexual assault in 2007 against a seven-year-old girl.
Justice Helen Wood sentenced Anderson to five years jail backdated to November 8, 2019, saying the sexual assaults were brazen and opportunistic.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"They were degrading and humiliating for the complainant and his conduct made her feel powerless and undermined her sense of self worth," Justice Wood said.
However, Anderson has appealed the jury verdict saying it is unsafe and unsatisfactory.
He also appealed against Justice Wood's summing up of the case to the jury saying it was excessively long, repetitive, only described the defence case in the briefest of terms and quoted and repeated evidence that supported the Crown case to an excessive and unfair degree.
In sentencing comments, Justice Wood said the way Anderson committed the crimes, demonstrated arrogance and a brazen attitude.
"There has been no hint of any remorse," she said.
The aggravated sexual assault occurred when the complainant visited Anderson's property for a pony ride with a Ms R - a trusted friend of her mothers.
"The evidence establishes that at one point the complainant went up upstairs and saw the defendant massaging Ms R with both adults in a state of partial undress," Justice Wood said.
"The complainant went downstairs and was followed by the defendant outside. He grabbed her and pulled her over to a shed and placed his hand inside her underpants and inserted his finger or fingers inside her vagina causing her pain and discomfort."
The matter did not go to court for several years because of false statements by Anderson and Ms R.
"Ultimately, in February 2010, Ms R made a statutory declaration which retracted her original statement in certain key respects," she said.
In sentencing comments, Justice Wood also revealed that Anderson also had a conviction for indecent assault and rape of a five-year-old child which occurred in October 2009.
"He was convicted in April 2012 and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. As a result of the police investigation concerning those crimes, he was charged with three counts of possessing child exploitation material and 20 counts of possessing bestiality products. He was convicted in the magistrates' courts and fined $2000."
"It is noted that the [2009] crime of indecent assault involved digital penetration, and the rape involved inserting his penis in the mouth of the child he assaulted.
In the January 2020 sentencing, Justice Wood said: "A lengthy sentence is required to reflect the gravity of the crimes, the fact that there are a total of five occasions of sexual abuse and the lasting impact of the crimes on the lives of two complainants."
Anderson received a non-parole period of two years and 10 months.
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
