Sexual Offences

Plans to criminalise revenge pornography and upskirting have received Government backing. The Cabinet has approved the drafting of amendments to the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017, which was introduced by Labour TD Brendan Howlin following a 2016 report by the Law

The Department of Justice and Probation Board NI (PBNI) will complete an assessment of a domestic violence pilot at Londonderry Magistrates' Court by September under the updated domestic and sexual violence and abuse strategy. Since last March, judges in Derry have been allowed to refer those convic

A former teacher awaiting prosecution for historic sexual offences against one of his pupils has lost his appeal to the Supreme Court in which he argued that his prosecution under section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 was unconstitutional. By a narrow majority, Mr Justice Donal O’D

A man who was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment for raping and sexually abusing his step-daughter over a period of seven years has lost an appeal against his conviction. Dismissing all five grounds raised by the man, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy found, inter alia, that the trial judge had not e

A new law allowing for individuals who commit serious offences abroad to be prosecuted under Irish law has come into force from today. The Criminal Law (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) Act 2019 was signed into law in March, allowing the State to ratify the Istanbul Convention on International Women's

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