Victims of child sexual abuse and rape in England and Wales are facing excruciatingly long waits for justice, with thousands of cases mired in a court system burdened by unprecedented backlogs. According to new data shared by the Ministry of Justice with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), nearly 7,000 child sexual abuse and exploitation cases were stuck in the system as of March 2025—a 9% increase from the previous year. The delays are not just numbers on a page; they represent the lived reality of survivors like Morwenna Loughman, whose story has become a symbol of the wider systemic crisis.
For Morwenna, the ordeal began in the early hours of February 24, 2023, when she was violently raped by a man she later discovered had lied about his identity. Her attacker, Aaron Moona, was arrested at the scene and charged within hours with actual bodily harm (ABH) and multiple counts of rape. Yet, despite the apparent strength of the case, Morwenna would not see him in court for over two and a half years. The trial, scheduled twice, was cancelled at the last minute both times, leaving her in a state of limbo and fear.
Morwenna’s experience is far from unique. Research by Rape Crisis England and Wales found that in 2024, a third of all rape trials were postponed at least once, a sharp rise from just one in ten in 2015. The delays, according to the charity, are a “direct cause of retraumatisation” for victims and leave more women and girls at risk of further violence. The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) echoed these concerns, noting that support services are “at breaking point,” with thousands waiting months or even years for help. Their analysis found an average wait time of nearly two years from the time abuse is recorded by police to the conclusion of a court case, and even longer for rape offences.
“No-one should have to face agonisingly long waits for their case to go to court and reach a resolution, but this is especially true for child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation,” said Maria Neophytou from the NSPCC. “Not only do these waits cause significant anxiety and worry for children who have already experienced serious trauma, but they can also delay young victims from being able to access the support they need to start to recover from abuse.”
The numbers paint a grim picture. As of March 2025, there were 6,989 child sexual abuse cases in the courts of England and Wales, up from 6,399 the previous year. Victims waited an average of 10 months from the accused being charged to the case’s completion, with that figure rising to 18 months for cases involving the rape of children aged 13 to 15. Meanwhile, the overall Crown Court backlog hit a record high of more than 78,000 open cases in June 2025, according to the Ministry of Justice. For survivors like Morwenna, these delays are not just bureaucratic hurdles—they are sources of ongoing trauma.
Recalling the impact of the repeated postponements, Morwenna told BBC Newsnight, “I basically lost my job. I lost my home. My home was a crime scene. I was terrified to be awake, terrified to be asleep because of the nightmares and the flashbacks.” She described feeling “resilenced” and “not human anymore,” a shadow of her former self, as she endured acute post-traumatic stress disorder that caused severe vomiting and led to the loss of her livelihood and sense of safety. “It’s only now that he has been convicted that I can start to feel like myself again,” she said, after her attacker was finally found guilty in August 2025.
The delays in Morwenna’s case were compounded by the fact that her attacker repeatedly breached his bail conditions—over 20 times, she says—without consequence. “He could have been anywhere,” she recalled, underscoring the constant fear that accompanied the legal limbo. Even after the trial, the sentencing was postponed because the perpetrator had missed a dangerousness assessment, leaving Morwenna and her family to wait yet again for closure.
These personal experiences are supported by broader research. The report 'Living in Limbo' by Rape Crisis England & Wales found that survivors of adult rape wait an average of 499 days for a Crown Court trial in cases where the defendant has not been remanded—192 days longer than for other types of offences. The report calls for an urgent end to listing rape and sexual offence trials as “floating trials,” which are often cancelled and rearranged at the last minute, causing further distress to victims.
The emotional toll of the justice system’s delays is profound. Morwenna described the courtroom experience as “so much harder than I ever could have imagined.” She faced victim-blaming, was accused of lying because she initially said she “thought” she had been raped, and endured a defence strategy that relied on outdated and discredited rape myths. “The impact of court delays cannot be overstated—it is inexcusable,” she wrote. “Your autonomy, your right to be heard, has been denied—exactly as it is when you are raped.”
Justice Minister Sarah Sackman acknowledged the scale of the problem, telling BBC Newsnight that the situation was “absolutely unacceptable” and that the criminal courts were “in a state of crisis.” She said the government was working to expand courtroom capacity and recruit more staff to address the backlog, adding, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Advocates are calling for urgent reforms. The NSPCC wants the government to use its upcoming response to the Leveson Inquiry to set out clear action to tackle the backlog and reduce delays for child victims. They are also urging investment in therapeutic support for children and a duty on local agencies to commission specialist services through the Victims and Courts Bill. The CSA Centre, meanwhile, warns that without “system-wide change,” the suffering and long-term impacts of abuse will only be exacerbated.
For every statistic, there is a story like Morwenna’s—a person forced to wait, to relive trauma, and to fight for justice in a system struggling to keep pace. As the backlog grows and more victims find themselves in limbo, the calls for meaningful reform grow louder, demanding a justice system that serves survivors with the urgency and compassion they deserve.
