One in seven rapists ‘had past crime conviction’

Around one in seven rape convictions last year were committed by offenders who have been previously been found guilty of sex crimes, new figures have revealed.

There were 1,200 rape convictions in 2012, of which the offender had previous convictions for rape in 43 cases and other sexual offences in 136 instances, according to figures released by the Ministry of Justice.

Elsewhere, the figures showed that nearly half of rapists (48 per cent) in 2012 were released from jail after serving half or less of their sentence, up from 43 per cent in 2011.

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Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: “Tough new sentences are available for those who commit these dreadful crimes – and under this Government sex offenders are more likely to go to prison and for longer.”

He pointed to “a tough new extended determinate sentence which will ensure dangerous offenders spend long periods in prison and are supervised for long periods after their release”.

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