Sexual Offences in the Youth Court - A Guide for CPS Prosecutors

Introduction

This live broadcast session is a very brief introduction to some issues that may challenge most prosecutors during their early days in the Youth Court. With the Youth Court being given its power to commit for sentence back in 2015, more and more serious cases will be tried before the Youth Court rather than the Crown Court meaning a good knowledge of the law in this area has never been more important.

With the passing of the Online Safety Act 2023, several new online offences have been created which may tend to be committed more by youths than adults. This course will consider these new offences and how they might be dealt with in the Youth Court.

Prosecuting sexual offences always presents a challenge, but especially before the Youth Court. This course will assist you with some of the nuts and bolts of prosecuting to make your initial encounter less stressful than it might otherwise be.

What You Will Learn

This interactive course will cover the following:

• The new offence of 'grooming' and what it actually is
• Dealing with registration requirements and how they differ with youths
• Abuse of process applications - how to respond effectively
• A brief introduction to s. 41 and cross-examination of previous sexual history
• Consideration of new offences created under the Online Safety Act 2023

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.