Indecency cases

Press, 23 September 1987, Page 20

Indecency cases

Eighty-four people were convicted in 1984 for indecency with boys under the age of 16. This information is given by the Secretary for Justice, Mr David Oughton, in reply to a correspondent.

In a letter to the Editor, S. D. Richardson writes: “There appears to be unprecedented concern— and rightly so — with sexual molestation of young girls. To put this in perspective, could the Department of Justice tell us how many of the cases which are successfully prosecuted in the courts of New Zealand relate to the abuse of young girls and how many are offences involving boys. “Similarly, in cases of incest, what proportion involve siblings, rather than father-daughter relationships?” Mr Oughton replies:

"In 1984, the most redent year for which full figures are available, there were 461 convictions for charges, relating toV sexual abuse of young people. Of these, 343 were for Indecency or sexual intercourse * t with girls .and ■’ 84 were for indecency with boys under 16. There were 34 convictions for incest, but there is no breakdown available i to *. indicate what proportion .of cases- involve siblings as opposed -to parentchild relationships.?’. ;_ >y ’ “The table below gives\some further details of the charges involved. These figures exclude convictions for rape, attempted rape and indecent assault, all of which were until recently'.defined exclusively as /offences against' females. Most victims of such offences were adults, but a number would also be young girls.”

Total charges which resulted in conviction for the 1984 year Offence Sexual intercourse with Total High Court Total Total District Court District Court Jury Trial Summary Convictions Convictions Convictions girl under 12 2 a Indecency with girl under 12 16 12 95 Incest . / 2 5 • ; ‘ 27 \ ■ Indecency with boy under 16 10 7 fi7 ‘■Sexual intercourse with gkrl: aged 12-16 Sexual intercourse with 1 5 ; ;84 : girnunder care/protection Indecency with"girl 6 f 3 : 12'-'#' aged 12-16 5 3 96