Skip to content

Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Sexual Offences Involving a Child

Snapshot 22

Bringing together relevant information, research findings and statistics relating to sentencing.

by Annalena Wolcke

Published: 1 Aug 2025
Last updated: Aug 2025

Overview

  • Sexual assault of a child1:
    • Sentencing Council guideline range: community order to a 9-year prison sentence
    • Maximum sentence: 14-years’ imprisonment
  • Assault of a child by penetration:
    • Sentencing Council guideline range: 2-year to 19-year prison sentence
    • Maximum sentence: life imprisonment
  • Rape of a child:
    • Sentencing Council guideline range: 6-year to 19-year prison sentence
    • Maximum sentence: life imprisonment
  • Sexual activity with a child family member:
    • Sentencing Council guideline range: community order to a 10-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 have fluctuated over the past 10 years, with a low of less than 1,500 convictions in 2020, and a high of more than 2,800 convictions in 2017
  • This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years

Sentences Imposed

Figure 1: Sentences for Sexual Offences (child), 2020-2024

  • Over 70% of convictions resulted in a term of immediate imprisonment.2
  • A further 18% resulted in a suspended sentence order.3

Figure 2: Sentences Imposed for Sexual Offences (child), 2020-2024

  • The immediate custody rate for sexual offences involving a child increased over the last 5 years.

Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths

Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Sexual Offences (child), 2020–2024

  • The most frequent sentence range is between 2 to 6 years, accounting for over 50% of all immediate custodial sentences.
  • Approximately 33% of prison sentences are over 6 years.

Sentencing Outcomes by Sex

Figure 4: Sentencing Outcomes by Sex, Sexual Offences (child), 2020-2024

  • Female (n=199); Male (n=10,765)
  • Between 2020-2024, the custody rate for sexual offences involving a child was higher for women (81%) than for men (72%).
  • Please note that the ratio of men convicted of sexual assault involving a child compared to women is around 54:1

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. A child in this context is a person under 13 years old. ↩︎
  2. Data source for all figures: Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly December 2024, published 15th of May 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2024 ↩︎
  3. ‘Other sanctions’ include: fines, discharges, and the category ‘otherwise dealt with’ ↩︎