7 of the 13 victims of serious sex offences in January were under 18-yrs-old

7 of the 13 victims of serious sex offences last month were under the age of 18 years.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions says there were seven incidents where the victims and the accused were related to one another.

Of the 12 people charged in January this year, one was a juvenile.

A 17-year-old boy was charged with the rape of his 27-year-old special needs cousin.

A 75-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 12-year-old grandniece.

A 64-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 10-year-old and 12-year-old nieces while in another incident, a 23-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 14-year-old cousin.

There was one incident where a 30-year-old man was charged with indecent assault and sexual assault of his 12-year-old stepdaughter.

A 33-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 11-year-old stepniece.

There was one incident of marital rape where a 44-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 33-year-old wife.

A 20-year-old man was charged with the rape of an 18-year-old woman from his village while in another incident, a 19-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman from his village.

There was one incident where a 36-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 29-year-old woman. The accused allegedly attacked the victim in a washroom.

12 people were charged with a total of 35 counts of separate incidents in January. There were 16 cases of rape, 2 cases of indecent assault and 17 cases of sexual assault.