Investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes: review

Case Study

Investigation

Inquiry into sexual and physical abuse of male children at an orphanage and school in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Police Reporting

• 6 accused reported
• 50 sexual crimes, committed against 22 victims. Also charges of physical abuse

Prosecution Strategy

Project Management Approach:

• Early liaison between police and prosecutor
• Early allocation of Crown Counsel
• Dedicated prosecution team formed including: Case preparer, Fiscal Officer, VIA officer, Crown Counsel

Investigation

Lines Of Investigation

Witness Statements/Productions:

Consideration of:

• 3 police reports
• 155 witness statements
• 240 productions

Additional victims:

Number of victims of sexual crimes rose to 31; 20 were older persons (over 60 years old)

Interviews:

All adult victims of sexual crimes in a potential High Court case are interviewed by prosecutors, here:

• A meeting took place with all 31 victims of sexual crimes
• 23 were interviewed by the case preparer (other witnesses did not engage or were medically unfit/dead)

Sensitive records:

• 27 sets of social work records recovered
• Medical and school records were obtained –some records held overseas were requested from foreign jurisdiction by International Letters of Request- a time –consuming process outwith the control of COPFS

Expert evidence:

Expert opinion was obtained on:

• Delayed and staged disclosure of victims
• Continuing association with accused
• Ability of some victims to give evidence

Evidential Considerations

• Identification of accused - given the passage of time – the accused were identified from school photos
• Applicability of Moorov doctrine – reviewed throughout the life of the case and reconsidered when any victim(s) disengaged
• Dates of charges – records were obtained to assist with pin pointing dates

Victims

Victim Strategy

• Meetings held with all 31 victims of sexual crimes
• Monthly contact made with 27 victims

Court Proceedings

• 129 witnesses on the indictment
• 67 given notice to attend for trial
• 4 victims were not traced/not co-operate – resulting in a number of charges being withdrawn by the prosecutor
• 19 Vulnerable Witness Notices lodged
• 1 Evidence on Commission arranged
• 29 witnesses gave evidence
• All victims were met by the trial prosecutor prior to giving evidence
• 10 victims attended for sentencing
• All victims offered a meeting with the prosecutor to discuss the outcome

Procedural History

Accused	1	2	3	4	5	6
SPR	30/04/14 02/05/14	30/04/14 01/05/14	30/04/14	30/04/14	30/04/14	30/04/14
CFE	09/07/14	09/07/14	03/07/14	03/07/14	03/07/14	03/07/14
No of victims	19	18	5	2	1	1
Case reported to Crown Office	03/03/15	03/03/15	03/03/15	03/03/15	03/03/15	03/03/15
Service of Indictment	31/03/15	31/03/15	31/03/15	31/03/15	31/03/15	NFP
Charges on indictment [43]	43 charges	63 charges	16 charges	5 charges	10 charges
No of victims [44]	28	38	13	5	10
PH	20/05/15	20/05/15	20/05/15	20/05/15	20/05/15
CPH	21/07/15	21/07/15	21/07/15	21/07/15	21/07/15
CPH	16/09/15	16/09/15	16/09/15	16/09/15	16/09/15
Trial	21/04/16	21/04/16	21/04/16	21/04/16	21/04/16
Charges considered by the Jury	23 charges	28 charges	APNG	NCA	NCA
Verdict ( FG)	3 charges	6 charges
No of victims [45]	3	3
Sentencing	5 years imprisonment	10 years imprisonment

SPR = Standard Police Report
CFE = Continued for Further Examination
PH = Preliminary Hearing
CPH = Continued Preliminary Hearing
FG = Found Guilty
NFP = No Further Proceedings
APNG = Accepted Plea of Not Guilty
NCA = No Case to Answer