Criminal cases that the Crown Prosecution Service take to court are in the news every day. This section also covers many issues related to our work, including violence against women and girls, hate crime, support for victims and witnesses, statistics, and speeches by the Director of Public Prosecutions and other senior staff.
Latest news
You can find our latest news stories here and search for older stories. You can also find more information about high-profile cases and the work of the CPS.
Working with the media
To make criminal court reporting more open, the CPS, police, and media representatives created a joint protocol (agreement) for working together. We are currently working on an updated version of the protocol.
Showing 51 - 60 of 136 results for crime type "Sexual offences" & area "CPS"
A sexual predator who raped lone women at knifepoint in Manchester City Centre has been jailed.Stuart Thomson, 34, was jailed for life with an 18-year minimum term at Manchester Crown Court today after being found guilty of raping three women and attempting to rape a fourth.Joanne Lovick, Senior…
A GP from Salford has been jailed after being found guilty of sexually assaulting women whilst examining them.Dr Wayne Davis, 69, was jailed for eight years at Manchester Crown Court on 13 January 2025, after conducting unnecessary, intimate examinations and procedures on two women between 1995 and…
Former police officer Lewis Edwards and his mother Rebekah Edwards have been sentenced after attempting to conceal crucial evidence following an online child abuse and blackmail case.Lewis Edwards, aged 25 and a former police officer, was convicted of multiple child sexual online offences in…
UPDATED prosecution guidance, which clarifies the law on when deceiving someone or failing to disclose birth sex could affect consent in rape cases, has been published today by the Crown Prosecution Service. .The new deception as to sex guidance has been updated to assist prosecutors in their…
NEW measures to help keep victims of crime engaged in the justice process against the backdrop of delays have been unveiled by the Crown Prosecution Service.The package, set out by Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has a strong focus on victims of rape and serious sexual…
A former scout leader who assaulted children as young as seven over almost three decades has been convicted.Ian Charles Silvester, 60, has been found guilty of 79 offences following a trial at Lewes Crown Court on 20 November 2024.Silvester, of Brighton, was prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution…
A police officer who assaulted a vulnerable young girl while on duty and superimposed his face onto child abuse images has been jailed for nine years.Dean Dempster, 35, who was a response officer for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) based in Oldham at the time, sexually touched the child while…
A former director of music at a private school who indecently assaulted 10 pupils has been jailed today for 12 years for a number of sexual offences.David Pickthall, 66, carried out the abuse between 1979 and 2003 whilst employed as a teacher at Brentwood school in Essex and in his capacity as…
A man who used a computer programme and AI technology to alter photographs of real children to create sexual abuse images, and encouraged the rape of children via the internet, has been jailed.Hugh Nelson, 27, has been sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment with an additional six years on extended…
A former Olympic swimmer and trainee police officer, who represented Great Britain at the 2012 London Games, has been convicted of raping two teenage girls (Wednesday 16 October).Antony James, 34, was convicted by a jury at Plymouth Crown Court of eight charges, including three counts of rape,…
Press ReleaseSexual offencesCPSSouth West
Press Office contact details
Please note that our Press Office is NOT able to deal with issues or queries from members of the public - these contact details are for accredited journalists ONLY. Do not call this number unless you a member of the press. For all general enquiries, please visit contact.cps.gov.uk.
If you are a national or international journalist with a media enquiry, you can contact the CPS Press Office on 020 3357 0906 or email [email protected] (9am-5pm weekdays only).
For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 3357 0906 to reach the duty press officer.
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Reactions and statements on trial outcomes;
Policy updates from the Director of Public Prosecutions and other prosecutors;
Updates on media appearances by CPS staff
Content that explains the role of the CPS and how we work
Highlighting of relevant work by our criminal justice partners and other stakeholders
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Media protocol
To ensure greater openness in the reporting of criminal proceedings, the CPS, the police and media representatives developed a joint protocol for working together. We are currently in the process of updating the protocol.
