Serious sex offences remain a major concern for our country, and the number of cases being withdrawn is also a major issue after 5 cases were discontinued due to insufficient evidence, unavailability of victims to give evidence during trial dates, and the victims' inability to recall incidents.
While releasing the statistics for April, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions says a 16-year-old boy was charged with the rape of a 5-year-old boy for the alleged offence in 2021. This matter was discontinued after the victim experienced difficulty recalling the incident, and the parents expressed concerns about re-traumatising their child through the trial process.
The State has referred this matter for counselling at this stage, reserving the right to reinstate or refile the charges should new evidence come to light.
There was one incident where a 32-year-old man was charged with one count of child stealing
and one count of rape of a 4-year-old girl in 2023. This matter was discontinued to allow for the child to undergo counselling.
The State has also referred this matter for counselling at this stage and would reconsider reinstating the charges later.
In another incident, a 43-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 19-year-old sister-in-law however, this matter was discontinued after the victim could not be located or contacted during court proceedings.
There were a total of 59 counts of sexual offences in April 2026.
There were 49 counts rape, three counts of indecent assault, and seven counts of sexual assault.
There were 20 accused persons charged with 59 counts of sexual offences. Of the 20 accused
persons, three were juveniles.
There were 18 victims of whom 10 victims were under the age of 18 years. There were 16 female victims and two male victims.
Two 17-year-old boys and two 21-year-old men were charged with multiple counts of rape and sexual assault of a 7-year-old boy. The accused persons were charged with 11 counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault. The alleged offending occurred on separate occasions between 2018 and 2023.
There were five incidents where the victims and the accused were related to one another.
A 34-year-old man was charged six counts of rape of his 10-year-old stepdaughter.
A 57-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of rape of his three nieces.
The accused is charged with six counts of rape of his 13-year-old niece, six counts of rape of his 11-year-old niece and one count of rape of his 7-year-old niece. The alleged offending took place on separate occasions between 2024 and 2025.
In another incident, a 45-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 39-year-old wife. The
accused person is also charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and criminal intimidation.
A 43-year-old man was charged with one count of rape and one count of indecent assault of his 38-year-old sister-in-law.
A 21-year-old man was charged with the rape and indecent assault of a 16-year-old girl while in
another incident, a 42-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 16-year-old girl.
In both the matters, the accused persons are known to the victims’ families.
There was one incident where a 33-year-old taxi driver was charged with the rape of a 24-year old woman. The alleged offence occurred last year when the victim had hired the taxi to take her
home from the city, during which the accused allegedly committed the offence.
In another incident, a 30-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of a 12-
year-old girl from his village.
There was one incident where a 39-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 20-year-old
woman.
The accused was also charged with one count of aggravated robbery for allegedly
stealing the victim’s mobile phone and speaker from the victim’s house.
