Such cases are difficult, but time and the fame of alleged sex offenders cannot be allowed to limit justice for the victims
The Guardian,
Max Clifford was found guilty on eight of 11 charges of indecent assault.
Photograph: Paul Davey/Demotix/Corbis
The subsequent steps taken by police and prosecutors to change the approach in cases of sexual offending have been criticised by some in light of the recent acquittals of Dave Lee Travis and Nigel Evans. But the change was important. It emphasised that any assessment of the likelihood of succeeding in a criminal prosecution should be by reference to an objective assessment of the evidence and not a crude "bookie's test" whereby the odds of winning against a celebrity are taken into account.
Inevitably results will be mixed when cases involving sexual offending alleged to have taken place many years ago are brought. These cases are difficult at the best of times, often involving conduct which by its very nature is not witnessed by others. The passage of time only adds to the difficulty.
But few of us, on reflection, would be comfortable with a criminal justice system in which cases were not brought merely because the events took place long ago or because the accused was a celebrity. The Max Clifford case shows that when the police and prosecutors quietly hold their nerve they can succeed, whatever the public profile or popularity of the accused.
The test is whether there is enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction and whether a prosecution is required in the public interest. The first is a matter of legal judgment, with the difficulty for the police and prosecutors that they cannot test a victim's account by live questioning. The second is a matter of discretion. Assuming there is enough evidence to prosecute, the celebrity of the accused should not be a bar or limitation on prosecution.
A clear and consistent approach is needed. That approach should rigorously assess the evidence before a criminal case is started. People understand and accept the real need to avoid bringing charges from which suspects cannot fairly defend themselves.
But in the past an overcautious approach was adopted. No doubt this reflected a concern in society at large, namely that there is a risk to suspects that someone will make false allegations they will find impossible to disprove. That concern should not be ignored, but it is important that it is kept in proper perspective. The risk, otherwise, is of sexual offences being subjected to a different and, in reality, more rigorous test than is applied to other crimes.
Tempting though it is to judge the entire criminal justice system as each verdict arrives, in the long run it is better to hold back and view these cases in the round.
One of the problems in dealing with cases of sexual offending in general and of child sexual abuse in particular has been the tendency of commentators to lurch from one side of the road to the other in short order. Accusations that the police and prosecutors are too timid to prosecute one day are followed by accusations of a witch hunt the next, and they help no one.
What the Clifford case shows is that victims do not always come forward straight away. There may be many reasons for that, but that does not in and of itself prevent a jury believing what they have to say.
A statute of limitations requiring sexual offences to be prosecuted within a set time frame, as many have been demanding, would have deprived Clifford's victims – and many others – of justice.
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Belfast Telegraph
Publicist Max Clifford arriving at Southwark Crown Court in London. 28 April 2014. PR guru Max Clifford
has been found guilty of a string of indecent assaults on teenage girls
in the first conviction under sex crime inquiry Operation Yewtree. Also
in this Section ...
Telegraph.co.uk
Max Clifford,
the public relations guru, has been found guilty of indecently
assaulting teenage girls over nearly 20 years. Clifford, 71, is facing
jail after an eight-week trial in which he faced 11 counts of indecent
assault against seven teenagers. He was ...
Daily Mail
A smirking Max Clifford
last night faced jail after he was convicted of a vile campaign of
sexual abuse against teenage girls. For the man never shy of supplying a
quote in a 50-year PR career, he was silent when his downfall came and
refused to apologise to ...
Daily Mail
From the very beginning, Max Clifford's
career was founded on lies: Freddie Starr never ate that hamster, David
Mellor did not make love to Antonia de Sancha in a Chelsea strip, and
Derek Hatton wasn't ever going out with Princess Diana's cousin
('Di's ...
Mirror.co.uk
PR guru Max Clifford
has today been found guilty of a string of indecent assaults on teenage
girls, in the first conviction under Operation Yewtree - the high
profile investigation launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
After eight days' deliberation, ...
Daily Mail
Max Clifford's
wife Jo was fighting back tears today after learning of her husband's
convictions. The former PA was visibly distraught at her Cotswold
cottage in the picturesque village of Broadway as friends and relatives
arrived to comfort her. It has been ...
Telegraph.co.uk
Max Clifford,
the country's best-known public relations agent, has been found guilty
of eight charges of indecent assault following an eight-week trial. He
was acquitted of two charges and the jury was unable to reach a verdict
on one other. Here is a summary ...
Mirror.co.uk
Celebrity publicist Clifford,
71, was found guilty of assaulting her and three other teenage girls in
offences dating back almost 40 years. He was convicted of eight
indecent assaults and could be jailed for two years for each of the sick
crimes. After bravely ...
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