§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the figures for each of the last five years, broken down by sex, of persons convicted of child abuse; and of the sentences given by the courts, in England and Wales.
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§ Mr. John Patten[pursuant to his reply, 28 July 1988, c. 420]: I am now able to provide some data for 1986. Comparable information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost, while figures for 1987 are not yet available.
The tables bring together the readily available information on the number of defendants found guilty of
Table 1: Persons found guilty and sentenced at all courts for sexual offences where the victim is known to have been of 16 years of age or under England and Wales 1986 Number of persons Offence description Sex Total found guilty Total for sentence Absolute/conditional discharge Probation/supervision order Fine Community service order Fully suspended sentence Immediate custody Otherwise dealt with Buggery with a boy under the age of 16 or with a woman or an animal M 147 147 5 21 2 1 5 108 5 Attempts to commit buggery with a boy under the age of 16 or with a woman or an animal M 20 20 3 1 — 1 3 12 — Indecent assault on male person under 16 M 398 401 30 121 33 2 46 156 13 F 12 12 1 6 1 — 2 2 — Indecent assault on female person under 16 M 1,318 1,327 103 350 110 26 164 518 56 F 9 9 3 1 — — 2 3 — Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 13 M 100 100 1 12 7 2 6 70 2 Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16 M 339 337 50 50 70 21 45 94 7 F 2 2 1 — — — 1 — — Incest with girl under 13 M 75 75 — 4 — — 2 65 4 F 2 2 — 1 1 — — — — Inciting girl under 16 to have incestuous sexual intercourse M 3 3 — — 1 — — 2 — Householder permitting unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16 M 1 1 — — — — 1 — — F 1 1 — — — — — 1 — Person responsible for girl under 16 causing or encouraging her prostitution etc. M 1 1 — — — — — 1 — F 2 2 — 1 — — — 1 — Abduction of unmarried girl under 16 M 11 11 1 2 — 1 3 3 1 F 1 1 — — — — — 1 — Gross indecency M 236 235 19 63 34 3 27 81 8 F 7 7 — 3 — — 2 2 — Total M 2,649 2,658 212 624 257 57 302 1,110 96 F 36 36 5 12 2 — 7 10 —
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Table 2: Persons found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences of violence against the person where the victim is known to have been of 16 years of age or under England and Wales 1986 Number of persons Offence description Sex Total found guilty Total for sentence Absolute/conditional discharge Probation/supervision order Fine Community service order Fully suspended sentence Immediate custody Otherwise dealt with Murder of infant under 1 year M 2 2 — — — — — 2 — Infanticide F 9 9 — 9 — — — — — Cruelty to a child M 58 57 14 7 1 1 12 20 2 F 65 65 13 27 2 1 12 10 — Summary offences Cruelty to, or neglect of children M 1 1 1 — — — — — — F 3 3 1 2 — — — — — certain sexual offences and offences of violence against children. For other types of offence it is not possible from the results of court proceedings held centrally to distinguish the age of the victim. As the hon. Member will see, nearly half of the persons convicted of sexual offences received sentences of immediate custody.