Paedophilia: Sentencing

(asked on 28th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice , what steps he will take to strengthen sentences given to convicted paedophiles.


Answered by
 Portrait
Rory Stewart
This question was answered on 5th April 2019

Sexual offences perpetrated against children are horrific crimes and the impact of these can have a lasting impact on victims and their families.

Sentencing decisions are taken by our independent courts. They will take such decisions based on the full circumstances of the offence and offender, and consider the relevant sentencing guidelines. The independent Sentencing Council has produced definitive guidelines on sexual offences.

There are a range of offences someone can be convicted of if they abuse a child. Life imprisonment is available for the most serious offences, such as the rape of a child under the age of 13. For certain child sexual abuse offences, extended determinate sentences can be imposed for the purposes of public protection. There are no plans to increase maximum penalties available for child sexual abuse offences.

Average custodial sentences for sexual offences overall are increasing, and have gone up from 43 months in 2007 to just under 60 months in 2017. The number of prisoners serving a custodial sentence for a sexual offence has nearly trebled, from 4,795 (in June 1998) to 13,580 (in 2018).

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