Katie Scott
The legal landscape around sexual offences in England and Wales is undergoing its most significant transformation in years. New statutes have created entirely new categories of offence, enforcement is intensifying, and the courts are prosecuting more cases than at any point in a decade. If you are facing an allegation, understanding these developments is essential.
Q: Has the law on sexual offences actually changed recently, or is this just media noise?
A: The changes are real and substantial. The Crime and Policing Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, introduced a wide range of new and expanded offences relating to sexual conduct, intimate images, child sexual abuse, and offender management. Alongside it, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amended the Sexual Offences Act 2003 with effect from 6 February 2026, adding further provisions around non-consensual intimate images. These are not proposals — they are now law.
Q: What are the new offences I should be aware of?
A: Several significant new offences have been created. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 now criminalises the taking or recording of intimate images without consent — not just sharing them, which was already an offence. It also introduces new offences relating to AI-generated intimate images (so-called "deepfakes"), creating or supplying tools designed to generate such images, and the copying of intimate photographs shared temporarily without consent. Additionally, new offences covering rape and other penetrative sexual activity with a child under 16 have been introduced, carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The possession or publication of certain categories of extreme pornographic content — including images depicting strangulation or sexual activity with a child under 16 — has also been brought within scope as a priority offence under the Online Safety Act 2023 framework.
Q: What is Sarah's Law, and has it changed?
A: Sarah's Law — formally the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme — allows members of the public to ask the police whether someone has a history of child sexual offending. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 puts this scheme on a statutory footing for the first time, meaning it is no longer dependent on police discretion or guidance but is now a legal framework with defined obligations. For those with relevant convictions, this significantly strengthens the reach of disclosure.
Q: Is grooming now treated differently by the courts?
A: Yes. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces grooming behaviour as a statutory aggravating factor when sentencing specified sexual offences committed against those under 18. This means that where evidence of grooming exists — befriending a child, building trust, isolating them from others — a court must treat that as a reason to impose a heavier sentence. This is a notable change that will affect the sentencing exercise in a wide range of child sexual offence cases.
Q: Are the police and CPS actually prosecuting more cases?
A: Significantly so. Police recorded sexual offences in England and Wales rose 11% to over 209,000 in the year ending March 2025, with more than half of that increase driven by the recording of new offences introduced by the Online Safety Act 2023. The proportion of sexual offences resulting in a charge has also risen — from 9.8% to 10.7% in the year ending December 2025. CPS data for Q3 2025/26 showed that completed rape prosecutions reached their highest level in a decade, and child sexual abuse cases reached a charge rate of 86.5%, the highest since early 2023. The direction of travel is clear: more investigations, more charges, more convictions.
Q: Has anything changed about how sex offenders are managed after conviction?
A: Yes. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces changes to the notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, including new provisions allowing virtual notification in specified circumstances — addressing a long-standing practical issue where offenders inadvertently breached requirements simply by being unable to reach a police station within the three-day limit. The Act also strengthens foreign travel notification requirements and places the statutory guidance governing police disclosure decisions on a formal footing. These changes tighten the framework while reducing the risk of technical, unintentional breaches.
Q: What does all of this mean if I am facing an allegation today?
A: It means the environment you are being investigated or prosecuted in is materially different from even two years ago. New offences are being enforced that did not previously exist. Charge rates are rising. Sentencing aggravating factors have been expanded. And the courts are processing more sexual offence cases than at any point in recent memory. Early, specialist legal advice has never been more important — both to understand the exact nature of any allegation against you and to ensure your defence is built on the most current understanding of the law.
Our criminal defence team specialises in sexual offence cases and is experienced in navigating this rapidly evolving legal landscape. Contact us today for a confidential, no-obligation consultation.