Delayed Prosecution for Childhood Sexual Abuse (Oxford Monographs on Criminal Law and Justice)

Child sexual abuse prosecutions are often brought following a substantial delay of some years after the alleged abuse. This delay poses a variety of problems for the prosecutions. The book will examine the problems associated with criminal prosecutions commenced many years after the abusive incidents were alleged to have occurred, the response of the criminal justice system to such cases, and how the system should respond in order to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial, while recognising the reasons why complainants may delay reporting abuse for many years.