The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) yesterday announced the outcome of its review of the 15 cases involving 17 victims in which convictions were set aside in September.

A technical change to the law in 2009 inadvertently meant that certain types of sexual offences could no longer be prosecuted in the Magistrates’ Court and could only be dealt with by the Crown Court.

The error was in the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, which was scrutinised and approved in Westminster rather than the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Prosecutors say there are three cases in which the test for prosecution is met and in respect of which proceedings will now be brought in the Crown Court. In the remaining 12 cases, the test for prosecution is no longer met and no fresh proceedings will be brought.

PPS assistant director Ciaran McQuillan, who conducted the reviews, said: “I am extremely grateful to the victims I spoke to for their positive engagement as I reviewed each of these cases. I can assure all victims that a sensitivity to their views and the experience they had gone through was at the forefront of my mind.

“The process to review these cases has now concluded and involved an application of the test for prosecution. This involved careful consideration of whether the available evidence provided a reasonable prospect of conviction and whether prosecution was in the public interest.

“I reached the conclusion that three of the 15 meet the test for prosecution, while 12 do not. I have written to all defendants and victims involved today to inform them of the outcome in their individual case.”

In all of the cases subject to review, the defendants had already been through a prosecution and were sentenced in respect of their offending. This resulted in one defendant serving a prison sentence and others being subject to suspended sentences or completing probation or community service orders.

The PPS said the 12 decisions not to prosecute were taken on public interest grounds. Each of these cases was considered on its individual merits but some of the relevant considerations included the fact of the previous proceedings and outcome; the nature and gravity of the particular offending; the time that had passed since the date of the offending; and the time that had passed since the original proceedings.

Regard was also given to the fact that the setting aside of the previous conviction does not preclude the police from revealing, where appropriate, the circumstances that led to that conviction in any future Access NI check.

Mr McQuillan said: “During the victim engagement process, a number of people indicated to me they did not wish to see a fresh prosecution, while others were supportive of new proceedings.

“I recognise fully the deep disappointment felt by those who did wish to proceed again and who were told today that this will not happen. I want to assure all victims, and the wider public, that each decision was taken only after the most careful consideration of all the factors relevant to each of the cases.”

Mr McQuillan also noted the support offered to victims by Victim Support NI and Nexus NI through a care package put in place by the Department of Justice and the PPS in September.

He said: “We recognise that this process was distressing for those involved, which is why we worked with Victim Support NI and Nexus NI to offer victims dedicated support. This was taken up by a number of those it was offered to.

“I would like to provide reassurance that the PPS is committed to working with criminal justice partners to robustly prosecute sexual offences where the test for prosecution is met.

“We work to ensure that victims are treated with sensitivity and respect at every stage of the process. We recognise the bravery of all victims of sexual offences and we would encourage them to continue to come forward to report their experience to police.”