Persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)

Legislation: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 47A(1)

Maximum penalty: 25 years imprisonment

Period: 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2024

Jurisdiction: higher courts

Charges

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Cases

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All outcomes

Males

Females

Aged under 25

Aged 25 to 54

Aged 55 and over

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the higher courts, 23 charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) were sentenced in the five years to 30 June 2024. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was imprisonment (87% or 20 charges).

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of a sentenced offence. Charge data is most useful in understanding how a specific crime is usually sentenced.

Case data

In 18 cases sentenced in the higher courts in the five years to 30 June 2024, persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) was the principal proven offence (the most serious crime in the case). Among the 18 cases, 18 people were male and 0 people were female. The most common outcome for cases was imprisonment (83.3% or 15 cases).

A case is a collection of one or more charges against a person or company sentenced at the one hearing. Case data is most useful in understanding the total sentence usually imposed on people found guilty of a particular crime.

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 1**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 23 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 2**: Imprisonment lengths for charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 20 charges**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 2 years, the longest is 12 years, and the median is 7.25 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 7.25 years and half are above.
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 6**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) by financial year
**Number: 23 charges**

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 7**: Number of charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) by financial year
**Number: 23 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths each year for charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 8**: Average imprisonment lengths for charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) by financial year
**Number: 20 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 11A**: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 18 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 11B**: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 18 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 11E**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 13 cases**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 12A**: Imprisonment lengths for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 15 cases**, including imprisonment only (15 cases) and imprisonment combined with a community correction order (0 cases).
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 3 years, the longest is 19 years, and the median is 7.75 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 7.75 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for males for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 12B**: Imprisonment lengths for males for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 15 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 3 years, the longest is 19 years, and the median is 7.75 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 7.75 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 12E**: Imprisonment lengths for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 11 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 3 years, the longest is 19 years, and the median is 9 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 9 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths without a community correction order for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 12G**: Imprisonment lengths without a community correction order (CCO) for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 15 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 3 years, the longest is 19 years, and the median is 7.75 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 7.75 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing lengths of non-parole periods for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 13**: Non-parole periods for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 15 cases**
**Note**: Imprisonment terms do not include a community correction order.

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 18**: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) by financial year
**Number: 18 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 19**: Number of cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) for all people by financial year
**Number: 18 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 20A**: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) by financial year
**Number: 15 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year (excluding combined orders) for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 20B**: Average imprisonment lengths (excluding combined orders) for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) by financial year
**Number: 15 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length and average non-parole period for each year for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 20C**: Average imprisonment lengths and non-parole periods (NPPs) for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) by financial year
**Number: 15 cases**
**Note**: *NPP Cases* in the graph indicates that only cases with a non-parole period are included.

Bar graph showing age groups of offenders for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 22A**: Ages of offenders (where age is known) for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 18 cases**

Bar graph showing gender of offenders for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 22B**: Gender of offenders (where gender is known) for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 18 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of charges in cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed) — **Figure 22C**: Number of charges per case (of any sentenced offence) for cases of persistent sexual abuse of a child aged under 16 (repealed)
**Number: 18 cases**