A CONVICTED sex offender has been found guilty of further abuse involving a five-year-old child. Ryan McAuley (24), originally from the Kilmore area of the lower Falls in west Belfast, but whose address was given as Ormeau Road, went on trial last week denying three charges. On Friday, a jury of seven women and five men unanimously acquitted McAuley of two of the counts. But in a majority verdict of 11 to one, the jury yesterday found him guilty of the third charge of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency. Gareth Purvis, prosecuting, had told Belfast Crown Court the abuse was committed some time between January 2005 and March 2008, in McAuley's then home in the west of the city, when he was aged between 14 and 17. The allegations came to light in September 2012, a few weeks after the victim started in year eight at secondary school. The court was told the child broke down and cried after revealing to a classroom assistant that he had left a note for his mother that morning detailing the abuse. The boy was later inter-viewed by specially-trained detectives, telling them the abuse started just short of his fifth birthday. McAuley denied knowing the family or the boy and dismissed the allegations as "lies". He later admitted he had known the family but not the victim. Bad character evidence presented to the court revealed that McAuley had previous convictions for sexual mis-conduct with two other young boys, aged just three and five. He will be sentenced at Belfast Crown Court next month. Speaking after the guilty verdict, a relative of the young victim said they were relieved that "justice has finally been done". "This has been two years of absolute hell - on top of the abuse there was the psychological hell of having to through the trauma of giving evidence because McAuley refused to accept his guilt. "We are relieved it's over but exhausted at the length of time the process has taken. "For the protection of other children it is of some small comfort to us that McAuley's convictions, including his previous offences against very young boys, have now been publicly documented".
