London - Hundreds of sex offenders are escaping with slap-on-the-wrist punishments for “abhorrent” crimes including grooming and assaulting children.
Figures compiled by the Ministry of Justice reveal that perverts have been let off with cautions even when targeting those aged under 13.
The law states that a child aged 12 or under is incapable of consenting to any sexual activity - with perpetrators facing a maximum 14 years in jail.
But police have given out 437 cautions for the offence over the past five years.
The “soft” punishment, sparing the offender a court appearance, is used in about one in six cases dealt with by the authorities.
Police and prosecutors are also dealing lightly with those guilty of grooming children for sex, despite public outrage over gangs targeting vulnerable youngsters.
Sixty-six such crimes resulted in a caution between 2009 and 2013 - a shocking 18 percent of the cases where action was taken.
Campaigners and MPs said the revelations were “appalling”.
Tory MP Philip Davies, who unearthed the figures, said paedophiles were being spared the “full force of the law”, adding: “It is completely unacceptable to give cautions for sexual activity with children under the age of 13. There are no mitigating factors and no excuses. They should go before a judge.”
Peter Cuthbertson, of the Centre For Crime Prevention, said: “Even those well aware of how much cautions are being overused will be sickened. Cautions for major sex offences and paedophiles is completely unacceptable.”
The NSPCC said some decisions to issue a caution may have been taken to avoid a child having to give evidence in court. But it added that this was a damning indictment of the justice system. The charity’s Jon Brown said: “A custodial sentence for serious sexual offences sends a very clear message that society will not accept their behaviour in any way. It also reflects the lifelong damage that sexual abuse can have on children and young people.
“A prison sentence can also mean the offender is given therapy to ensure they understand the impact of their behaviour and to reduce their risk of re-offending.”
There has long been controversy over the use of cautions for other types of sex offences.
Figures released to Davies, a campaigner against soft justice, show there were 7 057 such punishments in a five-year period.
But the disclosure relating to those who have assaulted under-13s is particularly shocking.
Normally, officials explain the use of cautions for sex crimes as applying in cases such as a 17-year-old having sex with a 14- or 15-year-old. Prosecutors may decide not to take the case to court because the act was consensual. Lib Dem justice minister Simon Hughes, who released the figures to Davies, said: “All sexual offences are abhorrent.”
Mike Penning, Tory justice minister, said the law was now being changed to ban the use of cautions for serious sexual offences.
He said: “Under this government sex offenders are more likely to be locked up, and for longer... We’ve banned the use of cautions for serious offences and we’re now enshrining this in law.’
In a speech earlier this week, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said the number of sex offenders was one of the “biggest challenges” facing the courts, with a “fairly rapid increase” in the number in jails.
He added: “More have been arriving in our prisons and they have been staying there for longer than the typical offender.”
Daily Mail