THE NUMBER OF rape and indecent / sexual assault offences before the Central Criminal Court fell by 10% last year.
The Courts Service annual report figures for 2014 shows there were 468 rape cases and 824 indecent / sexual assault cases in total.
249 of the rape cases went to trial, resulting in 125 convictions. There were 37 acquittals and 87 disagreements.
Figures show that in two rape cases in 2014 the convictions resulted in a sentence being fully suspended.
Nine people were given a life sentence.
There were 229 indecent / sexual assault convictions, while 137 were acquitted.
In the District Court there were 1,748 sexual offences with 1,264 sent forward for trial.
There were 717 sexual offences in the Circuit Court, resulting in 396 guilty pleas submitted and 172 convictions.
In 2014, there were 21 murder and 7 manslaughter convictions. Four cases were committed and found not guilty by reason of insanity.
The Special Criminal Court that deals with cases associated with membership of illegal organisations, threats to kill and firearms possessions saw a fall off in cases before it last year.
Figures show there has been a 50% reduction over two years. There were just 15 defendants before the court, down from 23 in 2013 and 30 in 2012.
Of the total, 13 were up on charges relating to being a member of an illegal organisation and two were in court for firearms possession.
Juvenile crime orders were down 9% to 4,877, with a 33% decrease over three years.
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