15 October 2023 , 15:03
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Former reality TV star and convicted sex offender Jeff Anderson, says he has forgiven himself and is “not hiding away anymore”, 18 months after being released from jail.
Anderson, 33, was sentenced to nine months in 2021, to be served at Northern Ireland’s high security prison, HMP Maghaberry. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders register for 10 years. But now he has released a two-minute ‘come back’ video on social media for the public, saying he has been “through quite a lot”.
Anderson from Kircubbin, Co Down, was convicted two years ago by a Crown Court jury for exposing himself and masturbating in front of a then 12-year-old schoolgirl while he was sitting in his mother’s BMW sports car in Belfast.
On December 16, 2021, Judge Neil Rafferty QC imposed “nine months immediate custody” for the offence of committing an act of a lewd, obscene and disgusting nature outraging public decency on St Jude’s Parade on June 20, 2018.
Judge Rafferty said: “The time has long since passed when women and girls going about their business in public should be confronted by men like Mr Anderson.”
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Anderson made a return to social media
The former Voice star has got rid of his famous long black hairThis was the second Crown Court conviction for Anderson, who was given a three-year suspended sentence in July 2020 after he admitted secretly recording 11 women over a period spanning 2005 to 2013.
In his personal video broadcast on Instagram on Sunday, October 8, 2023, he is seen speaking to a camera while walking in a field understood to be in Co Down.
He opens by saying: “Hey Instagram, so first story ever with me in it. I’ve obviously been through a lot over the past number of years.” His signature long black hair has been cut, but he has retained his beard and is wearing a white vest and a zipped sports top and appears to be holding the camera himself as he is recorded.
He said: “I made a lot of silly, immature mistakes when I was younger and I got punished for it. And then in more recent years I got accused of something . . . and I went to prison for it. But, that then forced me to hide away and be depressed, and today’s the day I put all of that behind me.”
He thanks people for their “support and love” and acknowledges “many people don’t like me out there” and that he is subject to “a lot of hate” Anderson explains that he hopes anyone who vents hatred about him, experiences “some sort of release” and added: “I understand that”.
He said he had to forgive himself before he forgave other people and added: “The people who I’ve hurt in the past, I’ve had to be fully sincerely apologetic [to]. I’m not hiding away anymore, I love you all. Peace and love.”
Anderson found fame on TV talent shows The Voice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Superstar, and gained the nicknamed ‘Baby Jesus’ while touring as an understudy in the UK production of Jesus Christ Superstar. He performed in front of The Voice judges Ricky Wilson, Sir Tom Jones, Kylie Minogue and will.i.am in 2014.
In 2013 he had been the special West End guest in Peter Corry’s entertaining annual The Music Box at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. And in 2012 he had appeared on Superstar, a TV reality show where he competed for the part of the son of God in a new production of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar and was made understudy.
Anderson found fame on The Voice
Jeff Anderson is also known for Superstar (Janet Devlin / ASG)But his smooth rise to fame faltered when he was çand girls in Northern Ireland. Anderson was first charged with the offences in 2016 but his identity was protected for years due to reporting restrictions, which were finally lifted in May 2020.
In June, 2020 he attended Belfast Crown Court on July 2, 2020 and admitted to, secretly recording women for his own sexual gratification, sexual assault and assault, recording 11 females doing a private act, knowing that they did not consent to being recorded, between April 2005 and August 2013, sexually assaulting one of his victims in 2012, assaulting another woman, occasioning actual bodily harm, in 2015.
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For these crimes he was handed a three-year custodial sentence, suspended for three years and placed on the Sexual Offences Prevention Order for 10 years. The sentence was referred for appeal on the grounds it may be “unduly lenient”.
On July 27, 2020, a PPS spokesperson 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 that there are sufficient grounds to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.”
The Court of Appeal granted leave for the reference but dismissed the application because the case has suffered various delays, the defendant had been sentenced and was embarking on 'recovering' his place in society, there was overwhelming evidence that he pleaded guilty because he was confident as a result of a discussion with the judge in chambers that he would avoid immediate custody.
The judges’ ruling read: “In those circumstances, although not without a degree of reluctance, we consider that we should not interfere with the sentence.” On December 16, 2021, Anderson was jailed for exposing himself in view of child.
When he gave evidence at the trial, Anderson said the girl had made a ‘genuine mistake’ and that he had not been masturbating. He claimed he had instead been strumming his “miniature guitar”.
In a statement the victim made regarding what happened, the teenager, said the incident has affected her confidence and mental health. She also said in her statement that the incident made her feel “worried and uncomfortable” and added: “Because Jeffrey didn’t plead guilty it made me feel as if I was lying and also going to court has been stressful.”
Judge Rafferty paid tribute to her and said: “She is clearly an intelligent and determined young woman. I can entirely understand the pride that her parents have in her and how she has conducted herself.
“Having noted how this prosecution has lingered over her for the last four years, now that it’s concluded I can only encourage her to focus on becoming the author of her own life story - a story in which Jeffrey Anderson becomes relegated to a mere footnote.”
Despite the jury’s guilty verdict, Anderson continued to deny the offence and maintained he was playing his guitar with a bobble wrapped round the top of his thumb which made it appear red.
Judge Rafferty said that while he accepted Anderson has not offended since June 2018, that offence was committed whilst he was on bail and under investigation for the voyeurism charges.
He said the crime was committed close to three schools as an aggravating factor, and highlighted the young age of the schoolgirl at the time plus the impact the incident has had on her.
As well as being jailed, Anderson was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and had been banned from working with children and vulnerable adults. He will remain on the register until 2031.