One in 14 rapists has been spared prison in the past decade – fuelling concerns the criminal justice system is soft on sex offenders.

Some 12,191 rapists were convicted in England and Wales between 2007 and 2017. But a shocking 896 were handed non-custodial sentences, according to new figures.

Over the same period, more than half of those found guilty of sexual assault were not sent to jail. Some 22,457 people were convicted of the crime, but 12,275 (55 per cent) avoided being locked up.

Justice minister Rory Stewart, pictured, wants to eliminate prison terms for non-violent offenders sentenced to less than one year behind bars

Instead, the criminals were let off with community sentences, cautions, suspended jail sentences, conditional discharges or some other punishment instead of custody.

The revelation has infuriated campaigners who fear judges are not sending a tough message on sex attacks when they set sentences. The damning figures will also surprise people at a time when questions have been raised over so-called ‘soft justice’.

Last week justice minister Rory Stewart said sentences of less than a year should be scrapped for all but the most serious offences – which opponents branded a ‘green light for criminals’.

Critics said the use of cautions and other non-custodial sentences for sex crimes was undermining the public’s faith in the ability of the justice system to properly punish offenders.

Free, teen who raped girl of 13 A teenager who raped a 13-year-old girl he groomed on Facebook was spared jail after a judge heard he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women were worthless. Adil Rashid, then 18, claimed he was not aware that it was illegal for him to have sex with the girl because his education left him ignorant of British law. Adil Rashid, who was 18 at the time of the offence, claimed he was unaware it was illegal for him to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he had groomed over Facebook In January 2013, Judge Michael Stokes, sitting at Nottingham Crown Court, said sending him to jail might cause him ‘more damage than good’. Rashid, from Birmingham, admitted he had sex with the girl at a Premier Inn. He was arrested the following week after the girl told a friend, who informed one of her teachers. Rashid told a psychologist that he did not know having sex with a 13-year-old was against the law. He also said he had been taught that ‘women are no more worthy than a lollipop that has been dropped on the ground’. Advertisement

Campaigners are also concerned that the number of rapists and other attackers who are spared jail could deter victims from reporting crimes.

The statistics were dragged out of the Ministry of Justice by former Tory Cabinet minister Priti Patel using Parliamentary questions. She said: ‘These shocking figures show too many rapists and sex offenders are being put back on our streets.

‘Thousands of sex offenders, including sick child rapists, are being given get-out-of-jail free cards by soft judges. The Ministry of Justice must get a grip on this issue and bring in new laws and ensure dangerous and sick sex offenders get locked up for a long time.’

David Spencer, research director of the Centre For Crime Prevention think-tank, said: ‘The idea that anyone who is convicted of rape does not warrant a prison sentence goes against all logic or reason.

‘It will come as a massive shock to the tens of thousands of people who have been victims of this appalling offence as well as the public at large who put their faith in the justice system to protect them from serious offenders. It is high time the MoJ takes steps to make sure that every rapist spends the time behind bars that their offence deserves.’

The figures unearthed by Miss Patel show that more than 13,000 convicted rapists and sex offenders were not sentenced to immediate custody in the past ten years.

That includes 553 offenders convicted of raping a child under 13 – or one in five of the 2,613 people guilty of the crime. Another 343 offenders who raped someone aged 13 and over escaped prison. There were also 1,693 offenders who sexually assaulted an under-13 and 10,582 who molested someone aged 13 or over who avoided a jail sentence.

It is understood many cases involved either under-18s, older people who committed rape or sexual assault a long time ago or those who may have been a partner of the victim.

In one case, a baby-faced rapist was spared jail in February despite admitting a horrifying sex attack on a girl of just 12. Charlie Flinders was 16 when he raped the schoolgirl after sending her explicit messages.

Now 18, he was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting raping the girl in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in 2015.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Under this Government, more sex offenders are being convicted and spending longer behind bars.

‘Since 2010 sentences have increased by over 20 per cent, with sex offenders facing on average five years in prison.

‘But sentencing remains a matter for independent judges.’

Soaring numbers of violent women are escaping with a slap on the wrist after attacking the police

Soaring numbers of violent women are escaping with a slap on the wrist after attacking the police.

Figures show the number let off with a fine after being convicted of assaulting an officer has trebled.

Police chiefs and experts suggest binge-drinking is to blame as young women increasingly challenge their male counterparts when it comes to yobbishness.

In 2016 – the most up-to-date statistics available – 936 women were given a financial penalty for attacking a police officer. The figure was 373 in 2006, the year after Labour introduced a 24-hour drinking free-for-all.

In 2016, 936 women received a financial penalty having been convicted of attacking a police officer - up from 373 in 2006 - the year Labour introduced a 24-hour drinking free-for-all

Rank-and-file officers have also expressed concern that the punishment for attacking a police officer, including punching, biting, shoving and spitting, was not severe enough.

Data from the Ministry of Justice shows that the average fine paid was £128 – less than the cost of a £130 parking ticket in London. A woman guilty of assaulting a member of the public typically pays a fine of £145. In total, 3,738 women were convicted or cautioned for lashing out at police officers, down from 4,867 a decade earlier.

The number jailed for the offence over the same period tumbled from 261 to 155, or 40 per cent. The average sentence fell from ten weeks to just seven.

Calum Macleod, chairman of the Police Federation, which represents about 120,000 officers, said: ‘It cannot be right that they should be at risk of being attacked, wounded and scarred physically and emotionally just for doing their job serving the public.’ David Spencer, of the Centre For Crime Prevention think-tank, said: ‘The courts must send the strongest message that an assault on the emergency services is an attack on society itself and will not be tolerated.

‘It is completely unacceptable for the crime of assaulting a police officer to be punished with such paltry fines. The police put themselves in harm’s way to keep our streets safe on a regular basis and those who see fit to commit acts of violence against them should feel the full force of the law.’

One senior officer, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Times have changed in recent years. In the past, women would often be a sensible, restraining influence on men who had too much to drink.

‘But now go to a town centre at turning out time and it is often the women who are shouting the most abuse at one another, getting into fights and behaving in a generally unsavoury manner.’