A representative for the county’s police force delivered the incredibly concerning statistics today, stating that 361 instances of child rape had been reported between April 2014 and March 2015.
In an even more worrying revelation, it is believed that 85% of serious sexual offences are never reported to the police, meaning that the abovementioned figure could be even higher.
Commenting on the seriousness of the statistics, Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston said: “One child rape is one too many, but harm of this scale is highly distressing and has to be tackled.”
Commissioner Alston commissioned a report into the shockingly high increase in sex offences in the county, which produced these latest alarming figures.
Insisting that the issue needs to be addressed “as a society”, Alston also urged people of all ages affected by sexual abuse to report the crimes committed against them.
“In reporting these crimes for investigation by the police, victims may begin to find some relief from the torment and violence they have suffered,” he added.
