Legal Matters: High-Profile Cases Put Spotlight on Sex Crimes; an Australian Paedophile Living in the West Midlands Has Been Placed on the National Sex Offenders Register under New Sex Laws. Home Affairs Correspondent Richard Warburton Looks at the Sexual Offences Act

Byline: Richard Warburton

Not since the Victorian era have sexual offenders in Britain been subjected to such rigorous and far reaching laws.

Last month the new Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into power as part of the most radical reform of sex crimes.

The Act introduced a raft of new laws designed to clamp down on a rise of sexual offences that reflect modern living, particularly against children and concerning rape.

High profile cases, like the sexual abuse and murder of Sarah Payne and the Soham murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by Ian Huntley, have exposed the extent of sexual crimes in Britain and helped to tighten the law as well as …

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Publication information: Article title: Legal Matters: High-Profile Cases Put Spotlight on Sex Crimes; an Australian Paedophile Living in the West Midlands Has Been Placed on the National Sex Offenders Register under New Sex Laws. Home Affairs Correspondent Richard Warburton Looks at the Sexual Offences Act. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Birmingham Post (England). Publication date: June 16, 2004. Page number: 2. © 2009 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group.

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