What is the legal position on reporting on a court case concerning sexual offences?
Susie asked:
A woman aged 24 is willing to give your paper information that might be useful in a feature on juries being reluctant to convict on rape charges. She tells how she was raped while in her teens by her sister’s partner and her ordeal in going to crown court and seeing him acquitted. She has no objections to being identified.
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A woman aged 24 is willing to give your paper information that might be useful in a feature on juries being reluctant to convict on rape charges. She tells how she was raped while in her teens by her sister’s partner and her ordeal in going to crown court and seeing him acquitted. She has no objections to being identified.
Explain the legal position in reporting this story.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
The answer is not the same in every country. In the u.s., the press is free to report any information they can discover. Many, as a matter of policy, do not identify victims of certain crimes. That policy, however, is not law. In addition, some police agencies and courts will be a bit more forthcoming with news agencies that have such a policy. laughter_every_day