Attrition in Child Sexual Assault Cases: Why Lord Chief Justice Hale Got It Wrong

Abstract

Successful criminal prosecutions for sexual offences against children are more difficult to secure than for any other offence. Sexual assault defendants are less likely than other defendants to plead guilty, less likely to proceed to trial, and more likely to be acquitted. Nevertheless, four centuries after Lord Hale expressed the view that accusations of rape are easily made and hard to refute, the adage is still repeated as though it were established truth in contemporary court decisions and by 21st century lawyers. While there is widespread agreement in the research literature about the entrenched difficulties in child sexual assault cases, the underlying reasons for the low conviction rate are less well understood. It is argued that socio-legal, systemic and child-related factors may contribute to the high attrition rate in child sexual assault cases. The need for further research is discussed.