The teenage sex offenders getting away with raping and assaulting children... because police take too long to investigate the crimes
The boy was 16 when he allegedly attacked the girl but the police investigation took so long that he was 19 by the time a file was sent to prosecutors.
Despite the boy admitting the sexual contact took place, it was decided that it was 'not in the public interest' to prosecute him.
The victim, from Surrey and named only as Rachel, said: 'I wish I had never bothered to report what happened to me.
'The message here is that if you are a few years from turning 18, you can rape and assault whoever you like without being punished for it.'
The Mail has identified another shocking case which suggests teenage sex offenders are escaping justice because investigations take years and prosecutors drop cases when the suspects can no longer be tried as youths.
In the second case, the police have failed to even interview a teenage rape suspect two years after the incident was reported – during which time he has turned 18.
The proportion of rape cases being dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service has risen from nine per cent in 2022 to 13 per cent in 2024/25, official statistics show.
The average wait for a bailed rape trial to conclude is five and a half years after the offence took place, including an average 18-month wait from a charge date to the end of the trial.
This is due to investigative delays, a shortage in specialist barristers and a record court backlog of more than 77,000 cases.
In Rachel's case, she was allegedly sexually assaulted in September 2021 by a college student who contacted her on Snapchat and arranged to meet near her home.
The 16-year-old then groped her, told her to get on all fours before trying to have sex with her and then made her perform a sex act on him – which she said she did because she was frightened.
She reported the boy to the police the following day, gave a statement and the suspect was arrested.
When he was interviewed, he accepted the sexual activity had taken place but insisted it was consensual.
Police also found a number of intimate photos of young girls on the boy's phone, Rachel said.
Surrey Police did not send a file of evidence to the CPS until January 2024 – by which time the suspect had turned 19.
The day before Rachel's 18th birthday she was told her interview had been 'credible and compelling' and there was enough evidence to charge the suspect with sexual offences.
Despite this, a district prosecutor said it was not in the public interest to do so because he would now have to be tried as an adult.
In a letter containing the news, the prosecutor wrote: 'The importance of this is that, if he were to be charged with the offences, he is no longer deemed a youth and therefore has lost the right to have his case heard in a Youth Court which means he no longer has the right to have the proceedings held in private, he has lost the right to anonymity and the Youth Court special measures and possible sentences, if convicted, that would have been available to him if he were charged as a youth.
'Although this has been a difficult decision to make, I have concluded that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute the suspect for the sexual activity which took place between you.'
Rachel said: 'What happened to me that day was the single most horrific thing in my life, and this experience has just made it so much worse.
'I just cannot understand it. 'The message to young girls who are sexually assaulted by teenagers is 'don't bother reporting what happened to you – it will take so long for something to happen that they will turn 18 and the authorities won't care'.
'It feels like his interests are being prioritised over mine. It is not my fault that so much time has passed.
'And I won't be the only case. If this has happened here then it must be happening all over the country – it's almost like there's a loophole in the law.'
Human rights lawyer Harriet Wistrich, who founded the Centre for Women's Justice, said Rachel had been 'failed by the state because of its own delays.'
'She has potentially been denied justice so may have a case under the Human Rights Act,' she added.
'This is not the only case involving an allegation of rape committed by a suspect who has then become an adult while the investigation is dragging on, something which can obviously change things. '
A colleague is working on a case currently where the investigating police force hasn't even interviewed the suspect two years on.
'He has now turned 18, and it seems that part of the reason they haven't bothered is they feel that his behaviour was just a young man being a young man and perhaps they didn't want to ruin his career.
'But this is another victim potentially being denied justice.'
A CPS spokesman said: 'We take allegations of sexual offences extremely seriously regardless of the age of the people involved.
'Prosecutors examined the evidence in this case carefully and on review, concluded that there was no realistic prospect of conviction for any rape charge. When considering other potential sexual offences, it was not in the public interest to pursue prosecution.
'We have written to and offered to meet with the complainant and her family to explain our decision-making.'
A Surrey Police spokesman said: 'Officers put in significant amounts of work into securing evidence in rape and sexual assault cases which are often complex and can involve multiple agencies.
'Whilst it is not uncommon for suspects under 18 to reach adulthood during an investigation, we understand each case must be individually assessed.
'In [Rachel's] case, charges were secured for underage sexual activity and an appeal was made against the decision not to charge for rape or attempted rape.
'Surrey Police continue to work with the family and liaise with CPS about this case.'
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