250 people charged with a total of 651 counts of serious sexual offences last year, youngest victim was a 3-year-old girl

250 people were charged with a total of 651 counts of serious sexual offences last year.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions says of the 250 accused persons, 3 were females, 26 were juveniles and four were police officers.

There were 242 victims of whom 153 victims were under the age of 18 years.

Of the 242 victims, 224 were females and 18 were male victims.

There were 146 offences that occurred in domestic relationships or where the accused was known to the victims.

The youngest accused person was a 12-year-old boy who was charged with the rape of a 7-year-old girl while the youngest victim was a 3-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by her 30-year-old uncle.

There were 435 cases of rape, 16 attempted rape cases, 1 case of aiding and abetting rape, 7 cases of abduction with intent to commit rape, 2 cases of assault with intent to commit rape, 44 cases of indecent assault, 2 cases of incest by a relative, 8 cases of defilement and 136 cases of sexual assault.

59 cases were withdrawn after discontinuances were filed in 2024.