Information on the number of persons aged 21 years and over who were proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for sexual activity with a child under 13 in England and Wales 2004 to 2007 (latest available) is contained in the table.
Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales to provide extra protection to children from sexual exploitation. This makes direct comparisons with previous legislation very difficult. Many new offences created by the Act will not have a direct equivalent under the old legislation.
2004 2005 2006 2007 Offence category Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Sexual assault of a male child aged under 13 19 4 72 36 82 41 81 41 Rape or attempted rape of a child aged under 13 45 3 112 37 142 64 142 69 Sexual assault of a female child aged under 13 128 29 367 152 400 238 448 246 Sexual activity with a child aged under 13 62 18 228 81 199 131 217 128 Familial sexual offences of a child aged under 13 7 4 35 20 34 17 37 24 Abuse of children aged under 13 through prostitution and pornography — — 1 — — — 2 — Abuse of trust—sexual offences against a child aged under 13 2 — 2 4 1 1 2 — Total 263 58 817 330 858 492 929 508 1 Includes the following statutes under the Sexual Offences Act 2003: Sections 5, 6, 7, 8 (1) (2) & (3), 9 (1)(a)(b)(c)(ii) & (2) & (3), 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(ii) & (3), 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(ii) & (2), 12 (1)(a)(b)(c)(ii) & 2, 25 (1)(e)(ii) and (2)-(4)(a)(b). S.47(1) (a), (b) & (c)(ii), (2), (3) & (6), 49 (1)(a)(b)(ii) & (2) 2 The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 The found guilty column may exceed those proceeded against, as it may be the case that the proceedings in the magistrates courts took place in the proceeding year and they were found guilty at the Crown court in the following year. 4 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform