Crime Solicitors

The Director of Public Prosecutions has spoken out to defend the recent failed prosecutions of celebrities for historic sex offences.

The DPP, Alison Saunders, has stated that this was not a knee-jerk reaction to cover for the lack of action taken in the cases connected to Jimmy Savile. She is critical of those who have stated that the recent acquittals of high profile celebrities such as William Roache and Dave Lee Travis should never have reached a courtroom.

The DPP gave a speech in Manchester at the annual conference for the St Mary’s sexual assault referral centre in which she stated that those who believe that the cases should not have come to court have not taken into consideration the way in which the criminal justice system works. She states that as the Crown Prosecution Service and the jury think in different ways they are able to come to different conclusions.

Prosecutors have been instructed by the DPP not to ignore complaints about crimes that were committed years ago simply because there has been a gap between the incident and the report. The CPS has welcomed these instructions, as this will allow victims to seek justice for what they have been through.

Saunders has introduced a new approach that allows prosecutors to consider that there may be a change in the victim’s mental health since the event, or even in their physical health. It is thought that victims will be able to get some sense of justice for incidents that happened decades ago even if a punishment handed out by the court is considered to be nominal. If the accused is found guilty then the victim may find it easier to come to terms with what has happened.

However, the DPP has admitted that the victims of Savile and other sex offenders had been ignored and not been given the chance to seek justice for what had happened and the fault lies with both the police and the CPS.

It has often been the case in the past that some prosecutions were not brought if it was thought a guilty verdict could not be obtained. This was an approach that let down the victims of those crimes and the DPP is determined that both the police and the CPS should not return to this. She has denied that these failed prosecutions were brought about simply because the accused was a celebrity. She is also concerned that many people now believe that victims came forward with the idea of making financial gains from these cases.

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