BETWEEN January and December 2008, 95 serious sexual offences were reported to police in the Warrington area.

Of the 95 reported incidents, 19 of those were reports of rape and the remaining 76 were reports of sexual assault/sexual activity.

There hasn’t been a case in which a defendant has appealed against conviction and had their guilty conviction overturned in the past five years.

There have been two cases in which a defendant has been allowed to appeal against the conviction, they have had a re-trial but their convictions were not overturned.

RAPE CONVICTION RATES:

2006 - 56.7%

2007 - 37.5%

2008 - 73.3%

The 2007 figures are low due to the number of rape cases dropped and more cases being acquitted after trial.

SEXUAL OFFENCE CONVICTION RATES:

2006 - 62.7%

2007 - 66.2%

2008 - 78.9%