10 of the 13 victims of serious sex offences in January this year were under the age of 18 years according to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
There were 18 people charged with a total of 36 counts of sexual offences.
There were 25 counts of rape, 1 count of attempted rape, 1 count of abduction with intent to commit rape, 3 counts of indecent assault, 1 count of defilement and 5 counts of sexual assault.
Of the 18 people charged, one was a juvenile.
A 15-year-old boy was charged with the rape and sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl.
There were five incidents where the victims and the accused were related to one another.
A 22-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 14-year-old niece.
There was one incident where a 30-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 13-year-old sister-in-law.
A 27-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 17-year-old cousin.
There was one incident where a 44-year-old man was charged with the rape, indecent assault and sexual assault of his defacto partner’s 18-year-old daughter, however, this matter was discontinued after the victim could not be located or contacted.
There was one incident where a 38-year-old man, a 36-year-old man and a 30-year-old man were charged with the rape of a 39-year-old woman. The first and second accused person were charged with one count each of rape of their cousin while the third accused person who is the nephew of the victim was charged with three counts of rape.
A 20-year-old man was charged with the rape, abduction with intent to commit rape and defilement of a 14-year-old girl. The accused person was known to the victim’s family.
There was one incident where four men were charged with the rape of a 12-year-old girl.
A 19-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 15-year-old girl.
A 20-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 16-year-old while in another incident, a 48-year-old was charged with the rape of a 17-year-old girl.
Three cases was withdrawn after the victims could not be located or contacted and insufficient evidence.
