Quote:
Lord Janner will be prosecuted over claims of historical child sexual abuse after a review overturned a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33310095
Quote:
...A judge will now decide if Lord Janner is fit to stand trial. If not, he will face what is known as a "trial of the facts", where a court hears evidence from alleged victims and decides only if Lord Janner committed the physical acts of abuse. There will be no finding of guilt or conviction...
... There are only three possible outcomes from a trial of the facts. They are a hospital order, a supervision order or an absolute discharge.
The jury can only make a finding that the defendant did the particular physical act. There cannot be a verdict of guilty.
Such a trial recently took place in the case of the former Luton South MP Margaret Moran, who was accused of falsely claiming more than £53,000 in parliamentary expenses.
She was given a two-year supervision order.
In Lord Janner's case, the process would involve the alleged victims giving evidence.
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I'd have thought that a civil action might well follow anything other than an absolute discharge but even then it might still happen.
Without referring to this case specifically, for the victims of abuse, I'm sure any official recognition of their plight by way of a judgement is to an extent welcome, irrespective of the resulting punishment. I can only imagine the pain those whose abusers have passed away before facing any form of justice must be suffering.