Sexual Offences

At least two women are expected to bring a legal challenge against new "digital consent forms" being used by police in England and Wales to access the personal data of rape complainants. The measures were introduced by police and prosecutors in response to disclosure failings which led to a number o

A consultation on proposals to strengthen the law to protect children in Northern Ireland from sexual exploitation and abuse has closed. The consultation looked at existing criminal law relating to a number of specific areas including: indecent images of children; grooming and online exploitation; c

A former law lecturer who is serving ten years' imprisonment in Arbour Hill Prison for sexual offences has successfully argued that there was a want of fair procedures in a disciplinary hearing which resulted in his phone and visitation privileges being denied for 30 days. In deciding to sanction th

The footballer Ched Evans, whose conviction for rape was quashed three years ago, has settled out of court for an estimated £800,000 with his defence solicitors, The Times reports. The Sheffield United player, 30, spent two-and-a-half years in prison before new evidence emerged that allowed hi

A girl who told judges she lied about allegations that resulted in her grandfather being convicted and jailed for sexually abusing her has had her plea for him to be released rejected. The man, 68, must continue to serve his 12-year sentence even though the girl, known as M, said she lied at trial,

Bullying and sexual harassment of women in the legal profession is greatly exaggerated, the Lord Chief Justice has said. Lord Burnett of Maldon told the Lords Constitution Committee that a small minority of judges behaved badly towards female barristers and that there was no evidence of a wider prob

A judge in the Court of Appeal has said it "beggars belief" that a woman would falsely claim to have been raped and sexually assaulted 15 times in order to claim victim compensation, as her appeal against conviction was rejected. Jemma Beale, 27, was described as a "serial liar" who in part made up

Sexual offences rose by 10 per cent last year, new figures show. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said the increase came at a time of "significant public focus on sexual assault” with the #MeToo movement.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has welcomed new figures showing a rise in recorded fraud offences as evidence of the success of the Government's anti-fraud strategy. Mr Flanagan today welcomed the publication of the Central Statistics Office's (CSO) crime statistics for 2018, which continue to be

A 29-year-old man who was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for defilement of a child under 17 has lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence. The man had met a 14-year-old girl on social media in 2015, and although her profile stated that she was 20 years old, he realised that she was

Ireland has officially ratified the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence this effect from today. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan announced the ratification following a special Government meeting held to mark International Women's Day 2019.

A judge of the High Court has challenged the Director of Public Prosecutions to take steps to address the "last minute" disclosure of records for upcoming rape and murder trials. Speaking in the Central Criminal Court during management of the trial list on Monday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott criticise

Rape prosecutions have declined to their lowest rate in more than five years, The Guardian reports. Figures reveal that a third of the 2,310 rape cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between April and September of last year saw charges brought.

The prosecution of a schoolboy who took covert upskirt photos of two teachers has highlighted the inadequacy of Northern Ireland's sexual harassment laws, a trade union has said. The teenager, who took five pictures of two woman teachers at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School in 2015 and 2016, has been

The Department of Justice has published a consultation which includes proposed measures to strengthen the law to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse. The consultation invites views on current laws which protect children from sexual exploitation and proposed measures to strengthen som