Man arrested in Portadown due to appear at Craigavon Magistrates Court charged with non-recent child sexual abuse offences

The arrest was made on Monday by officers from the PSNI’s Child Abuse Investigation Unit in Portadown.

The alleged offences are understood to involve four female and two male victims.

A PSNI spokesperson confirmed the man is due to appear at Craigavon Magistrates Court on March 1 and, as is normal procedure, all charges are reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

The arrest came after non-recent child abuse victim, Julieanne Boyle, spoke out publicly as part of Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week, urging more victims to come forward.

Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher from the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch said: “On Monday, we encouraged victims of non-recent child sexual abuse to break their silence and report, with a brave survivor waiving her anonymity as a beacon of hope for justice.

"We want to continue to act in safeguarding further victims, like we have this week. Last year the six victims in this case spoke out for the first time, after years of silence and yesterday we arrested and charged their alleged perpetrator.

"This only serves to reiterate our commitment to tackling these crimes and bringing people before the courts. The perpetrators of these crimes are only ever the ones at fault and don’t let the passage of time stop you from finally having your voice heard.

"We will listen, support and robustly investigate, always.”

Anyone who has experienced any form of sexual abuse is asked to contact police on 101, or in an emergency call 999. You can also report online at https://www.psni.police.uk/report

The reporting of non-recent sexual offences has been steadily increasing over the past five years, with reported offences in Northern Ireland totalling almost 5,800.

In 2022 / 23 1,245 non-recent sexual crimes were reported to police, an increase of 17 per cent from 2018 / 19.