A 2yr-old girl was the youngest rape victim last year

The youngest victim of serious sexual offences last year was a 2‑year‑old girl who was allegedly raped by her 27‑year‑old father.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions also confirms that the youngest accused person charged with rape last year was an 11 year old boy.

The DPP’s Office says there were a total of 141 people charged with a total of 378 separate counts of serious sexual offences as at 31st December 2018.

There were 21 people charged that were under the age of 18 years.

There were 277 cases of rape, 6 cases of attempted rape, 1 case of assault with intent to rape, 7 cases of abduction with intent to rape, 7 cases of indecent assault, 14 cases of defilement and 66 cases of sexual assault.

There were 204 victims of the 378 separate sexual offences. Of the 204, there were 129 victims under the age of 18 years.

All accused persons charged with sexual offences were male however victims of the sexual offences were both male and female comprising of 189 female victims and 15 male victims.

There were 91 offences that occurred in domestic relationships or where the accused was known to the victims.