Celebrity Sex Offenders Face Tougher Sentences

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 12 Desember 2013 | 20.14

Celebrities who use their public image to commit a sexual offence could soon face longer prison terms.

Although work on the new guidelines for judges started a number of years ago, the changes follow a series of high-profile sex offence cases, which have had an impact on attitudes towards sex crimes.

Revelations about disgraced TV presenter Jimmy Savile saw high numbers of sex attack victims come forward, while cases involving grooming gangs in Rochdale and Oxford raised questions about social care and attitudes to victims.

Covering more than 50 crimes including rape, child sex offences and trafficking, the official guidance places more emphasis on the long-term and psychological impact on victims than the previous 2004 guidelines it will replace next year.

It also brings in higher starting points for sentences for some offences, such as rape, which will now have a starting point of 15 years for top-category sentences.

Other significant changes include the removal of "ostensible consent" from the guidance, that is, the idea that a child over 13 can agree to sex, while greater emphasis will be placed on grooming by individuals and gangs.

Sentencing Council chairman Lord Justice Treacy said: "This guideline will make real changes to the way offenders are sentenced for these very serious, sensitive and complex offences.

"It will help judges and magistrates sentence in a way which protects our communities from this kind of offending and the suffering it causes."

The new guidance also takes into account the increased use of technology in sex offending since the previous guidelines were issued.

In many of the offences, a new aggravating factor is "recording the crime", as filming and photographing victims has become more common.

Due to the growth in online offending, the council has included offending committed remotely, such as via a webcam, when dealing with offences like sexual activity with a child.

Judges will also have to take into account aspects such as offenders lying about their age, grooming via social media or asking children to share indecent photos of themselves.

The guidelines, which will come into effect next April, are the largest and most complex produced by the council and were drawn up after a consultation with victims groups, judges, magistrates, lawyers, the police, NGOs, the Government, academics, medical practitioners and the wider public.

Barnardo's deputy director of strategy Alison Worsley said: "The publication of this new sentencing guideline will help to ensure the focus is on the perpetrator and not the victim."

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: "It is important that sentencing reflects the severe damage caused by highly manipulative and devious sex offenders, who may use positions of trust or celebrity status to target children.

"Increasingly technology is playing a part in the way offenders seek out and groom children, who may attempt suicide or self-harm as a result of their abuse.

"It is right that the guidelines reflect the harm caused and the people who cause this misery feel the full weight of the law.

"The outdated view that children can in some way be complicit in their abuse must be stamped out. The new guidance is a step in the right direction towards addressing this terrible myth."

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