ROBERT BURNS SENTENCED TO NINE YEARS IN PRISON IN LIVERPOOL AFTER COWARDLY FAILURE TO FACE COURT
A 61-year-old convicted sex offender, Robert Burns, was sentenced to nine years in prison in a court in Liverpool after refusing to attend his sentencing hearing.Despite the presence of his victims, who had bravely come to court to witness the proceedings, Burns declined to enter the courtroom from the cells.
Judge Stuart Driver, QC, stated that Burns had lacked the courage to confront the truth and face his victims, and therefore, he was to be sentenced in his absence.
The court learned that Burns was brought from prison to Liverpool Crown Court but refused to participate in the hearing.
He has prior convictions including indecent assault in 1990, sexual assault in March 2017, and failing to comply with Sexual Offenders Register notification requirements.
Judge Driver declared Burns a dangerous offender and imposed an extended five-year license condition.
He highlighted that Burns has now been convicted of 15 sexual offences and six breaches of notification requirements.
The judge also referenced a pre-sentence report describing Burns’s grooming and predatory behavior, emphasizing that he presents a high risk of serious harm to children and the public.
In addressing Burns’s attitude, Judge Driver said, "He has shown no remorse, he has shown no insight into his behavior." Burns, of Fishguard Close, Everton, was convicted following a trial of 12 offences of indecent assault against five boys aged between six and 15 years.
During the trial, prosecutor Martine Snowdon revealed that Burns had given some victims alcohol, showered them with money and gifts, and showed pornography to at least one of them.
The court found Burns guilty of repeatedly abusing four of the boys, with one additional offence involving another child when he was aged between 13 and 15.
The victim impact statements confirmed that these crimes had a profound psychological effect on all five victims, now adults, with two of them particularly affected.
In a moving statement, Judge Driver praised the victims: "All that remains is for me to praise the five men who are victims in this case for their courage in coming forward and for the dignity they have shown throughout the case." Defence solicitor Charlotte Atherton argued that Burns still maintains his innocence regarding the offences against the five boys and his previous sexual offences.
She acknowledged that one victim had been especially badly affected and that his personality had been significantly changed by the abuse.
Miss Atherton also highlighted that Burns had developed a relationship with a woman he cared for, with plans to marry.
She noted that Burns had been abused as a child himself and had experienced behavioural difficulties, was now facing health issues, and that there had been a significant delay—over a year—between his arrest in September 2018 and his court appearance.
As part of the sentencing, Burns was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and was subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
