More than 90 per cent of child sex offenders in Northern Ireland receive a sentence of less than five years, it can be revealed.
According to statistics published by the Department of Justice in response to a series of questions from DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley, of the 547 people convicted of child sex offences between 2019 and 2023,278 (50.8 per cent) received a custodial sentence with only 50 of those receiving a sentence of five years or more.
The figures for convictions relate to initial disposal at court only and results of appeals are not included. The figures also relate to cases where there was a conviction for at least one sexual offence, where the offence description specifies the involvement of a child.
Read more: Alternative provisions for defence services being considered
Read more: Paramilitary gangs are 'forcing children into violence' according to new stats
In response to a separate question from Mr Buckley, the Justice Minister was asked if she had any plans to review the maximum penalties available under the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008. The minister said she believes that the current penalties "sit appropriately within the Northern Ireland criminal legislative framework."
"There are already significant maximum penalties available to the judiciary when sentencing for serious sexual offences under the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (the 2008 Order). These penalties sit appropriately within the Northern Ireland criminal legislative framework and also align with the maximum penalties available to the judiciary in England and Wales under the Sexual Offences Act 2003," she said.
"The 2008 Order is kept under regular review and updated with new offences to deal with emerging criminal behaviour. For example, the 2008 Order was amended by the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act ( Northern Ireland ) 2022 to criminalise upskirting, down-blousing, cyber-flashing and sexual grooming: pretending to be a child. The scope of the existing abuse of trust offences was widened to include the areas of sport and religion.
"Sentencing within the legislative framework in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary.
"I have also recently tasked officials to commence a scoping exercise into a potential review of sentences and sentencing frameworks for serious sexual offences. Whilst the scoping exercise is at a very early stage, I anticipate that it will seek to draw on any lessons emerging from the Sentencing Review currently underway in England and Wales as well as from comparative datasets on available maxima and average sentences across these islands for similar offences."
Both the DUP and Jonathan Buckley were approached for comment on this story but a response was not received by the time of publication.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our politics newsletter here.
English (United States) ·