"Disappointing" level of sexual offence convictions

Tuesday 03 July 2018

New laws on rape and consent will mean a “better chance of justice being served”, the Home Affairs Minister has said after the Law Officers’ Department revealed a “disappointing” level of convictions for serious sexual offences last year.

Of the 18 trials held last year, fewer than a third resulted in a guilty verdict. 13 defendants were acquitted in total – many following rape allegations.

The latest figures – released in the Law Officers’ Department Annual Report 2017 – follow a trend of low rape conviction rates in Jersey, particularly after trials. 

Previously, this has been put down to a lack of education surrounding consent, which may lead to what charity Jersey Action Against Rape (JAAR) branded “misconceptions” from jurors.  

Proposals to put sexual offence trials in front of a judge and two jurats instead of members of the public were brought before the States Assembly earlier this year in a bid to rectify this, but they were defeated in a vote.

Nonetheless, Constable Len Norman, who was recently appointed the Home Affairs Minister in Chief Minister John Le Fondré’s new Council, told Express that he believes that new Sexual Offences legislation, which recently came into force, should help to ensure that such cases are dealt with appropriately.

The new law will, for the first time, define ‘consent’. “It provides that consent means free agreement, and not compliance through fear, restraint or deception,” the Minister explained. Under the law, a person will not be able to legally consent to sexual activity if drunk, asleep or under the influence of drugs.

However, the Minister did not promise that the new legislation would mean more convictions. 

“The conviction rates for sexual offences across most of the western world are relatively low against other types of offence. The difficulty is particularly pronounced where the only fact at issue is consent.

“The objective of the new suite of criminal justice legislation (the Bail, Criminal Procedure and Sexual Offences Laws) is justice, which requires convicting the guilty and acquitting the innocent. Therefore I cannot say that convictions will increase under the new system, only that I believe that there will be a better chance of justice being served,” he said.

He later added: “In my opinion, the best way to ensure that sexual offences are dealt with justly is to put the greatest possible support in place for those people going through the criminal justice system, so the best evidence can be collected and the most effective case can be made. The Sexual Offences and Criminal Procedures Laws should together achieve this by modernising the treatment of vulnerable victims and witnesses. My predecessor brought that legislation forward to achieve this and I am currently overseeing its implementation.”

 The Law Officer’s Department are also reviewing the reasons behind the low levels of conviction – an endeavour that JAAR said they support.

“JAAR is very aware that the Law Officers’ Department is working hard to improve the situation regarding successful prosecutions in rape and sexual assault trials. JAAR will continue to do all we can to raise awareness around these complex issues and to support all survivors of these horrendous crimes,” Sara McIntosh, whose daughter, Cassidy, founded the charity, commented.