Being accused of a sexual offence can be terrifying. Whether the allegation is true, false or somewhere in between, you have the right to understand what happens next. Here is a guide to the legal steps that follow sexual offence allegations.
The Initial Allegation
Sexual allegations are typically made by a report to the police, the report may come directly from the complainant (the person making the allegations), a family member, friend or professional they have disclosed the alleged offence to. Allegations can also initially be reported to a school, GP or workplace and then this may initiate a duty for the establishment to inform the police.
If an allegation is made by a child and disclosed to a school or professional, then they have a duty to safeguard that child and therefore reporting is mandatory in these circumstances.
In sexual offence allegation the complainant will make a statement to the police, what this means is that they tell the police what they say has happened to them and information they often provide involves who the perpetrator is, where it happened, when it happened and how. This is usually conducted by way of an ABE interview, this stands for Achieving Best Evidence and is a video recorded interview with the complainant. Statements can be very detailed, or they may lack detail, either way it is important to acknowledge that if a complaint has been made the police will investigate that.
Police Investigations of Sexual Offences
When a complaint is made the usual course of action taken by the police is to obtain a statement from the person who is accusing you. Depending on when the alleged sexual offence is said to have occurred the police may decide to obtain physical evidence, this could be in the form of medical examinations or exploring opportunities to obtain DNA from clothing/bedding, swabs from the complainant and suspect.
The police may also collect other forms of evidence including CCTV and electronic forensic examinations of mobile phones or computers.
In cases of a historic sexual offences physical evidence is often non existent due to the passage of time, but the suspect must not think this means they will not be charged or convicted. In historic sexual offences evidence can arise from disclosure witnesses, and third party records such as counselling/psychological reports where they apply.
What Will The Police Do To The Accused If A Sexual Offence Is Alleged?
The police will want to speak with the person who has been accused of a sexual offence. There are two options for the police to take; they can invite the suspect into the police station for a voluntary interview, or they may decide to arrest where it is necessary to do so.
What is The Difference Between Being Arrested and Being Interviewed Voluntarily?
If you are invited to attend the interview on a voluntary basis then you attend the station at a mutual agreeable time and you are not under arrest. However, the police can arrest you at any time when you attend as a volunteer should it become necessary to do so.
If you are arrested then you are unlikely to have been expecting this, and it can be very frightening. The reason the police may arrest you is due to the need to preserve evidence such as a mobile phone, computer or clothing, and also to place bail conditions on you if you are to be released from the police station after interview.
The police cannot place bail conditions on a person who attends as a volunteer.
There is very little difference in the interview procedure itself, both a volunteer and a suspect under arrest are being accused of a crime, the interview is under caution and is recorded. It is important for the accused to understand that interviews are an evidence gathering exercise and seeking specialist legal advice from a sexual offences lawyer is important.
What Happens After a Police Interview In a Sexual Offence Case?
The police have to decide whether to release you on bail, or in serious cases they can remand you to appear at the Magistrates Court as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours.
In most cases, and where the suspect has been arrested, they will be released on police bail with common conditions being not to contact the complainant or to go within a specified area. They will be given a date to attend back at the police station to answer to bail, this date is often extended which can cause a lot of uncertainty, upset and frustration towards the investigative process.
Another option for the police is to release the suspect under investigation (RUI). This means that the accused will remain under police investigation, but they are not on bail.
Charging Decision or No Further Action
When the police have completed their investigation, the case will go to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or, to a police decision maker in the first instance.
The role of the Crown Prosecution Service is to consider the evidence gathered by the police and when doing so apply the Full Code Test. The Full Code test is made up of two questions:
- Is there enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction? If the answer is yes,
- Is it in the public interest to prosecute the accused?
It is almost always in the interests of the public for a person accused of a sexual offence to be prosecuted therefore the defence have to apply a strong strategy to undermine the evidence presented.
The CPS can go back to the police with an “action plan”, this is a set of tasks given to the police to complete before the CPS are able to come to a firm decision.
If the case does not meet the Full Code Test, then No Further Action will be decided. This means the case will close and the accused will not be charged.
Pre- Trial Process in Sexual Offence Cases
The first step in the legal process when you have been charged with a sexual offence is to attend the Magistrates Court. All cases begin in the Magistrates Court and depending on the nature of the offence and seriousness it can remain there or be sent to the Crown Court. Most sexual offences go to the Crown Court because they are deemed serious, at Eventum Legal we often advise our clients that the Crown Court is the most advantageous venue for their case, but wherever your case is heard we provide full support and pragmatic advice at every stage.
Before attending the Magistrates Court we will obtain disclosure from the Crown Prosecution Service, this provide us with an initial understanding of the evidence that is being used to prosecute our client. It is intended to allow a person to understand the strength of the case against them and to make an informed decision on plea.
The disclosure process is ongoing and therefore, if you plead not guilty the Crown Prosecution Service have a continuous duty to disclose material to the defence that may assist or undermine the case.
Trials in Sexual Offence Cases
When a case gets to trial it is for the prosecution to prove their case to the standard so that the jury are sure of guilt, the defendant does not have prove anything although it can understandably seem that as the accused you have a lot to prove, and you want to do just that – we get it, and we assist many client’s in building their robust defence to the allegations against them.
Most sexual offence trials will take place in the Crown Court before a jury, at this present time the backlog of cases waiting to get to court is huge, and we are seeing lengthy waits for the accused to have their day in court to prove their innocence, this can be very frustrating and upsetting for a lot of people we speak to, making sure you have the right legal support in place has never been so important due to the disadvantages the long waits can bring to the accused and their families.
There can be complex legal procedures that take place during and leading up to a trial in a sexual offence case, such as Ground Rule Hearings, Section 28 Hearings, consideration of Bad Character Applications and also any applications that may need to be made under s.49 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999- where a complainants sexual history may be of relevance. Our team have extensive experience in preparing for all possible avenues in which a sexual offence trial may take and work with experienced barristers to protect our client.
One Persons Word Against Another in Sexual Offence Cases
Many people accused are in disbelief when they are charged and their case goes to trial, particularly where the only evidence is the word of the complainant. However, it has been the case for hundreds of years in criminal courts that the word of the complainant is evidence, and particularly in sexual offence cases where there rarely are eyewitnesses, or physical evidence.
In sexual offence cases we urge those accused not to underestimate the “lack of evidence”, and that cases without witnesses or DNA evidence can and do go to trial.
Possible Outcomes After a Trial in a Sexual Offence Case
There are three possible outcomes after a trial concerning sexual offence allegations.
Acquittal – This means the accused is found not guilty
Convicted – Found guilty
Hung Jury – The jury could not decide whether to find guilty or not guilty. In this circumstance the CPS must decide whether they intend to retry the accused.
It is important to note that if you are accused of multiple offences the jury may find you not guilty of some offences, and guilty of others.
What Happens if I am Found Guilty of a Sexual Offence?
If you are found guilty after your trial of a sexual offence the court will sentence you, this can be done on the same day or and most commonly on a later date. If the offence if very serious, and the sentence you are likely to receive is imprisonment, then the judge can remand you into custody to await sentence.
Between conviction and sentence you are likely to have to meet with the Probation Service. Their role is to assess you and to provide a sentencing recommendation to the court – the court does not have to follow their recommendation. Our team will identify where it may be beneficial for our clients to undergo an independent psychological or psychiatric assessment which can be used to mitigate the defendant’s position, or consider issues such as dangerousness where it applies and the offence carries the possibility of an extended sentence.
At your sentencing hearing the judge will apply the sentencing guidelines specific to the offences you have been convicted of, and they will apply the necessary mitigation and aggravating features of the case to arrive at the appropriate length of sentence.
Sexual Harm Prevention Orders
In most cases which concern sexual offending the court will impose a SHPO. This is a civil order and aims to be a preventative measure, to ensure the safety of the public or a particular group of the public from further sexual offending. The SHPO will set out to prohibit the accused from certain activities such as restricting device use, internet use, contact with children, or attending specific places such as a school. The prohibitions must be proportionate to the offending and therefore, SHPO’s do differ based on the offence and the individual accused. You can read more about SHPO’s here.
Sex Offenders Register
Almost all sexual offences require the accused to become subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register. See our Sex Offenders Register page for more information on how this may affect you.
Can I Appeal my Conviction For A Sexual Offence, and What Are My Options?
If you have been convicted of a sexual offence and wish to appeal you have 28 days to appeal a Crown Court decision and 21 days to appeal a Magistrates Court decision. You can appeal out of time if you have a plausible explanation for doing so, and the court accept that. Our lawyers are regularly appealing decisions of all courts, and even taking cases to the Criminal Case Review Commission.
Defendant’s have an automatic right to appeal from the Magistrates Court, but must obtain permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal a Crown Court decision and to obtain that they must have positive advice on appeal from a barrister. At Eventum Legal we work with very experienced appeal barristers regularly and will work closely with them to consider the evidence, legal arguments and judgements in your case with a view to identifying grounds to appeal your conviction.
Accused of a Sexual Offence? – What to do next
The process from being accused to going to court is often long and complex, having experienced criminal defence lawyers who specialise in this area of law is crucial to ensure you understand the process which in turn will provide you with the knowledge and power to make the right decisions for you.
The earlier you instruct a lawyer the better, sitting and waiting hoping the allegations will go away is not advised. Our team offer pre-charge representation, and regularly successfully obtain no further action results before a case gets to court.
At Eventum Legal we represent clients at all stages of the criminal justice process, including before charge, speak to us today for free, compassionate and strictly confidential initial advice.