Historic Sexual Abuse Defence Solicitors

An allegation of historic sexual abuse can arrive without warning. A telephone call from the police, a letter inviting you to an interview, or officers at your door, often about events said to have happened many years ago. The shock is real, and so is the fear about what happens next.

Newtons’ criminal defence solicitors defend people facing historic and non-recent sexual allegations across Yorkshire, Cumbria and the North East. We will listen without judgement, explain where you stand in plain English, and stay at your side from the first police contact to the final decision in your case.

Whatever you are feeling right now, please do not face this alone, and do not speak to the police before you have taken advice.

Call us in confidence on 01765 607200. or make an enquiry online.

What is historic sexual abuse?

Historic sexual abuse means an allegation of a sexual offence said to have taken place months, years or often decades ago. The police and the Crown Prosecution Service usually describe these as non-recent allegations. There is no general time limit for prosecuting serious sexual offences in England and Wales, so an allegation can be investigated and charged at any time.

Allegations of this kind can surface long after the events they describe. A complainant may speak to the police for the first time after a conversation with family, contact from another person, media coverage or a period of counselling. Whatever has brought the matter to your door, the investigation that follows is real, and it needs to be taken seriously from the first moment.

It helps to hold on to two facts. Being investigated is not the same as being charged, and being charged is not the same as being convicted. The right response, made early, gives you the best prospect of that outcome.

Accused of a historic sexual offence? Do these things first

If you have been accused of a historic sexual offence, the steps you take in the first hours and days matter. Stay calm, say nothing about the allegation to anyone except your solicitor, and take specialist legal advice before you attend any police interview.

1. Take advice before you say anything. The natural instinct is to explain yourself, to the police, to family, to anyone who will listen. Please wait. Words spoken in shock can be repeated, misremembered and used against you later. Speak to a solicitor first and let us help you decide what to say, and when.
2. Do not contact the complainant. Not directly, not through friends or family, not on social media. However strong the urge to sort things out yourself, any contact can be treated as interference with a witness and can lead to arrest or to bail conditions that make life harder.
3. Stay off social media. Do not post about the allegation, respond to rumours or comment on anything connected to it. Silence online costs you nothing. A single post can cost you a great deal.
4. Never attend a police interview alone. A voluntary police interview is not an informal chat. It is an interview under caution, recorded, and everything you say can be used in court. You are entitled to have a solicitor with you.
5. Start preserving records. Old diaries, photographs, letters, messages and emails, employment records, tenancy agreements, the dates you lived at each address. In a case about events from years ago, a document that places you somewhere at a particular time can matter enormously. Gather what you have and keep it safe.
6. Look after yourself. Investigations of this kind can take months and sometimes longer, and the strain on you and your family is heavy. Speak to your GP if you are struggling, and the Samaritans are available on 116 123 at any hour. You do not have to carry this on your own.

One more thing, because it needs saying plainly. Some allegations are false. Others are mistaken, exaggerated or shaped by the passage of time, because memory is not a recording, and an account of events from long ago can be sincere and still wrong. Sexual abuse is a grave matter, and so is a false accusation. Our role is not to judge you. It is to defend you, and to make sure every part of the evidence is properly tested. If you have been falsely accused of sexual assault or rape, tell us everything and let us take it from there.

How the law treats offences before and after 1 May 2004

The date of the alleged conduct decides which law applies. Conduct said to have taken place on or after 1 May 2004 is charged under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Earlier conduct is charged under the law in force at the time, most often the Sexual Offences Act 1956.

This is why people facing non recent allegations often see unfamiliar offence names on police paperwork. The older legislation used different labels, and those labels still apply to conduct from that era, including offences such as indecent assault, gross indecency and unlawful sexual intercourse.

What was indecent assault?

Indecent assault was the offence under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 that covered a wide range of sexual touching without consent. It was replaced in May 2004 by offences such as sexual assault, but it remains the charge you will see where the conduct is alleged to have happened before that date.

What was gross indecency?

Gross indecency is a term used to describe acts of sexual indecency that do not necessarily involve physical contact or penetration. Historically, it has been associated with acts of sexual indecency between men, particularly under section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, which criminalised acts of gross indecency between men, whether in public or private. This provision was later repealed, but the term remains relevant in certain legal contexts.  The courts have generally treated “gross indecency” as having its ordinary meaning, which juries are capable of understanding and applying.

In cases involving children, gross indecency has been addressed under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960. This provision criminalises acts of gross indecency with or towards a child under the age of 14. The courts have emphasised the importance of context and intent in determining whether an act constitutes gross indecency, particularly in cases involving minors.

Overall, gross indecency is a broad term that encompasses various acts of sexual indecency, with its interpretation heavily reliant on the context, circumstances, and intent behind the act. It is applied in cases involving both adults and children, with specific legal provisions addressing its application in different contexts.  The precise meaning depends on the statute and the date of the alleged conduct, which is exactly the sort of detail your defence team will pin down at the outset

It is also important to note that a small number of offences under the older legislation carried strict time limits on prosecution, and the courts have held that those limits cannot be sidestepped by charging a different offence instead. Where a time bar applies, it can bring a case to an end. We check this early in every historic case we take on.

How are historic allegations investigated?

Most historic sexual abuse investigations follow the same broad path: a complaint, a police investigation, an interview with you, a period of waiting, and then a charging decision made by the Crown Prosecution Service. There is defence work to be done at every stage, and the earliest stages are often the most valuable.

• First contact. You may be invited to a voluntary interview or, less often in non-recent cases, arrested. Either way the interview is under caution and your rights are the same. Tell the police you want a solicitor present and contact us before you agree to anything, including a date.
• The interview. We prepare with you beforehand, press the police for disclosure about the allegation, and advise you on how to approach their questions, whether that means answering in full, providing a prepared statement or answering no comment. There is no single right answer; there is a right answer for your case.
• After the interview. You may be released under investigation or on police bail while enquiries continue. Waiting is often the hardest part. We stay in contact with the investigation team, press for progress and keep you informed, so the silence is never left to do its worst.
• Before any charge. Through pre-charge engagement we can put evidence and representations in front of the police and the CPS before a charging decision is made. This window is where strong defence work can quietly bring a case to an end.
• The decision. The CPS applies the Full Code Test, asking whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction and whether prosecution is in the public interest. The outcome is either a charge or no further action. If you are charged, we are already prepared, and we stay with you through the Magistrates’ Court and the Crown Court.

Defending a historic allegation

In most historic cases there is little or no physical evidence, and the case turns on accounts of events from long ago. Some people take comfort in that and assume an old allegation cannot be proved. That assumption is dangerous. A person can be convicted on the complainant’s evidence alone if a jury is sure of it. A proper defence never rests on “it is only their word”. It tests everything.

In practice, that testing means detailed, patient work:

• Third party records. Social services, school, medical, counselling, employment and housing records, obtained where the law allows and examined closely, both for what they show and for what they should show but do not.
• Timelines. Mapping every account against dates, addresses, jobs and school years, and examining how the allegation has changed between tellings.
• Context and motive. Where there is a background of family conflict, financial dispute or other pressure, it is explored carefully and put to proper use, lawfully and without theatrics.
• Alibi and opportunity. Records that place you elsewhere, or show that the circumstances described could not have happened as claimed.
• Expert evidence. Including, where it helps, expert evidence on how memory works and how accounts of distant events can change over time.
• Legal argument. Applications to exclude unfair evidence, statutory time bars on certain older charges, and abuse of process arguments, where missing records or unavailable witnesses mean a fair trial is no longer possible.

No two historic cases are alike, and we build the defence around the detail of yours. What you can expect from us is honesty about the strengths and weaknesses of your position, clear advice at every decision point, and a team that prepares every case as if it is going to trial.

Sentencing and what is at stake

Where a historic case does reach sentence, the court applies today’s sentencing guidelines, but it cannot pass a sentence above the maximum that existed at the time of the offence. Sentences for historic sexual offences therefore vary widely with the offence, the era and the circumstances.

A conviction can also carry consequences beyond the sentence itself, including notification requirements, commonly called the sex offenders register, sexual harm prevention orders, and barring from work with children or vulnerable adults through the Disclosure and Barring Service. We make sure you understand all of this from the start, calmly and accurately, so that every decision you make is an informed one.

We will always be straight with you about what is at stake and what can realistically be achieved. No honest solicitor promises an outcome. What we promise is the strongest defence your case allows, and honesty, clarity and loyalty at every step.

Why Newtons Solicitors?

Newtons is a regional firm with local roots, with ten offices across Yorkshire, the North East and Cumbria in Harrogate, York, Knaresborough, Darlington, Ripon, Richmond, Stokesley, Thirsk, Wakefield and Penrith. Our criminal defence solicitors attend police stations and appear in courts across the region, so wherever you are contacted, help is close by.

You will deal with a named specialist who knows your case, not a call centre. Everything you tell us is confidential. Many of the people who call us have never dealt with the police before, and we take care to explain every step in plain English, without judgement and without jargon. 

Our Criminal Team, who have a wealth of experience in criminal law and a vast number of successful defences, is led by  Kristina Lancaster, a highly experienced Criminal Solicitor with over 15 years of specialist expertise in criminal law. Kristina acts in cases ranging from minor road traffic offences and fraud to manslaughter, serious sexual offences and Health and Safety prosecutions, consistently delivering clear, strategic advice tailored to each client’s circumstances.

We are clear about costs from the outset and will always provide you with a full quote where possible before you commit to anything.

For a confidential conversation about a historic allegation, call  01765 607200 or contact us through our enquiry form today.

Frequently asked questions

Talk to us in confidence

You do not have to work out your next step alone. Call Newtons’ historic sexual abuse defence solicitors on  01765 607200 or send a confidential enquiry through our contact form and we will call you back at a time that suits you.

When you need us, we are with you every step of the way.