A jury at Belfast Crown Court has determined that a former police officer committed the acts of sexually abusing a teenage boy in the 1980s.
Albert Burns – a former CID officer in the RUC – was excused from attending the hearing at Belfast Crown Court following an assessment that his dementia rendered him incapable of attending or understanding the trial process.
It was therefore a short trial, “to determine the facts”.
The pensioner, from Carnmoney Road in Newtownabbey, was charged with, and denied, all seven offences which were committed over dates between 3 January, 1987 and 4 January, 1989.
After deliberating for less than an hour, the jury unanimously concluded that 91-year-old Burns “did the acts” alleged by the prosecution, on seven counts of indecent assault.
BBC News