Shocking new figures released today revealed that over the past five years almost 200 rapists have escaped with just a caution.The startling statistics, disclosed by 14 police forces in response to Freedom of Information requests, show one in 100 rape arrests resulted in a slap on the wrist.
Figures showed that 198 people arrested on suspicion or rape between 2006 and 2010 admitted the offence but only received a caution. The revelations come just days after Ken Clarke's gaffe that some rapes are less serious than others.
Last night, in an appearance on the BBC’s Question Time, broadcast from Wormwood Scrubs prison, the Justice Secretary finally offered an unequivocal apology after suggesting that not all rapes were ‘serious’.
One of the most shocking cases involved a caution given to a rapist who admitted abusing a girl under the age of 13 in Gwent, Wales, in 2008.
The maximum sentence for rape is life in prison but anyone who admits rape and receives a caution is only ordered to sign onto the sex offenders' register for two years.
A further 12,842 rape claims - or 65 per cent of arrests - were not taken any further by police in the same period because of a lack of evidence. Read More
