ONE in every three rape offences in Ireland resulted in the offender receiving a partially suspended sentence, Independent.ie has learned. ONE in every three rape offences in Ireland resulted in the offender receiving a partially suspended sentence, Independent.ie has learned. While all 257 cases of rape offences resulted in imprisonment, new figures show that in a third of all rape offences (97), a partially suspended sentence was handed down by the judge at the Central Criminal Court in 2016. "If my dad had got a suspended sentence, I would have thought that the courts didn't believe my story. "Fully suspended sentences are very rare for rape cases but the option should always be available to the judge for extraordinary cases where a suspended sentence might apply."

Source: Irish Independent March 11, 2018 06:56 UTC