Concern at number of rape cases reaching court

RAPE and sexual assault offences are on the rise but Ireland has the highest number of criminal cases collapsing before they reach the courts, it emerged yesterday.

Rape crisis support groups yesterday demanded reform of criminal investigation processes as the number of rape cases brought before the courts, here, halved in the past six years.

New figures also revealed less than half of accused rapists were convicted. And one-in-three rapists, it further emerged, were handed down jail sentences of less than five years.