Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council’s Sentencing Spotlight reveals latest rape statistics

Teenagers are being sentenced for rape more than anyone else in Queensland but only half are locked up for the crime, a bombshell new report says. READ THE FINDINGS

Teenagers are being sentenced for rape more than anyone else in Queensland but only half are locked up for the crime, according to a new report.

There were 269 children aged between 14 and 17 have been sentenced after being hauled before the courts for rape offences in the last 15 years, according to the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council’s Sentencing Spotlight.

Council chair and former judge John Robertson said the report which examined rape offences, offenders and trends between 2005-06 and 2020-21 found the most common age of a rapist was 14.

“In my mind I thought the age would be higher, but a lot of those people would have known their offenders,” Mr Robertson said.

The report revealed that 2222 rape cases came before Queensland courts in the last 15 years, with more than 98 per cent of those men. Two per cent of those were repeat rapists.

More than a quarter of those offenders pleaded not guilty, and older defendants were more likely to claim innocence than younger people.

Council chair and former judge, John Robertson. .

Mr Robertson said this statistic “struck” him as it was a much higher number of not guilty pleas than all criminal offences collectively (0.9 per cent).

“What that tells me is a number of things, but first of all rape and sexual offending is probably one of the most under reported offences,” he said.

“Secondly, we have these complications about the legal definition of consent. I didn’t do a lot of rape trials, but the ones I did, evidentially mistake of fact was run by the defence.”

The report revealed that more people were being sentenced for rape offences than ever before, skyrocketing from 79 in 2009-10, to 157 in 2020-21.

Rape cases over the last 15 years were also more prevalent in northern, regional areas of Queensland (101.3 per 100,000 people), which was twice as common than metropolitan areas (56.8 per 100,000 people).

Mr Robertson said social morals and progression over the last decade was a positive step in encouraging victims to come forward, but there was still plenty of work to be done.

“People are more prepared to trust institutions and make complaints but it’s still greatly under reported,” he said.

“The patriarchal nature of our society is a classic example, but we are starting to move towards a more enlightened approach.”

For adult offenders, more than 92 per cent were sentenced to time behind bars, but the report showed that children were more likely to dodge prison time.

The report showed that less than half of the children sentenced, or 49.4 per cent, received a custodial sentence compared to 50.6 per cent who were primarily sentenced to probation.

For adults, the average time spent behind bars was less than seven years, while children spent less than three years in detention.

The data also showed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were over represented, with more than 25 per cent of adult offenders classed as first nations.

Domestic violence rape offences also made up about 30 per cent of cases.

“Of course, this important data only tells part of the story and needs to be considered within the broader context of issues impacting the reporting and prosecution of these offences,” Mr Robertson said.