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Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Sexual Assault

Snapshot 21

Bringing together relevant statistics and trends relating to sentencing

by Annalena Wolcke

Published: 31 Jul 2025
Last updated: Jul 2025

Overview

  • Sexual assault of an adult:
    • Sentencing Council guideline range: community order to a 7-year prison sentence
    • Maximum sentence: 10-years’ imprisonment
  • Sexual assault of a child under 13:
    • Sentencing Council guideline range: community order to a 9-year prison sentence
    • Maximum sentence: 14-years’ imprisonment
  • Section 345 of the Sentencing Act 2020 outlines the availability of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPOs) upon conviction
  • Convictions fell during the pandemic but have since increased to over 2,400 in 2024 (from less than 2,200 convictions in 2015)
  • This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years

Sentences Imposed

Figure 1: Sentences for Sexual Assault, 2020-2024

  • Over 54% of convictions resulted in a term of immediate imprisonment.1
  • A further 17.5% resulted in a suspended sentence order.2

Figure 2: Sentences Imposed for Sexual Assault, 2020-2024

  • Trends in the use of principal sanctions for sexual assault have been relatively stable over the last 5 years.

Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths

Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Sexual Assault, 2020–2024

  • The most frequent sentence range is between 1 to 4 years, accounting for 40% of all immediate custodial sentences.
  • Approximately 35% of prison sentences are over 4 years.

Outcomes by Sex

Figure 4: Sentencing Outcomes by Sex, Sexual Assault, 2020-2024

  • Female (n=211); Male (n=9,397)
  • Between 2020-2024, the custody rate for sexual assault was higher for men (55%) than for women (38%).
  • Please note that the ratio of men to women convicted of sexual assault is around 45:1

These rates do not account for various factors that influence sentencing decisions, such as the offender’s criminal history and the seriousness of the specific offence. Additional research would be needed to determine whether gender affected the sentence imposed.

This Snapshot is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at a.wolcke@sentencingacademy.org.uk

  1. Data for all figures calculated from: Ministry of Justice (2025), Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly December 2024, published 15th of May. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2024 ↩︎
  2. ‘Other sanctions’ include: fines, discharges, and the category ‘otherwise dealt with’ ↩︎