Exclusive analysis reveals that more than 11,000 victims of crime have been denied compensation through a government scheme over the past decade because of their criminal records, with children among those affected.
Sky News' Data & Forensics team discovered that victims of grooming gangs and modern slavery are being systematically refused payouts by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) due to unspent convictions on their records.
The Human Cost: Arthur's Story
Arthur Sherry, a 43-year-old from Perranporth in Cornwall, represents one of the many victims caught in this bureaucratic trap. He suffered regular abuse including rape from his babysitter, Shaun Burton, starting from just five years old.
"I was frustrated that I wasn't being believed," Arthur told Sky News, describing how he reported the abuse to Devon and Cornwall Police in 2008 alongside two other victims. He alleges police didn't believe him at the time, and no charges were initially brought.
The trauma led Arthur into addiction and mental health struggles as a "coping mechanism." He was repeatedly arrested for minor offences such as making false calls to emergency services - what he describes as "a cry for help" when no support was available.
Eventually, his abuser Shaun Burton was convicted of multiple offences against children, including 11 counts of indecency with a child relating to Mr Sherry. Yet when Arthur, who suffers from complex PTSD, applied for compensation through CICA in 2013, his claim was rejected due to his criminal record and because he submitted his application beyond CICA's time limit.
Systemic Failure Affecting Children
The investigation uncovered that at least 130 children with criminal records have received reduced compensation awards over the last decade. This includes:
- 50 victims of sexual abuse
- 4 victims of brain damage
- 1 child who lost sight in an eye
The CICA scheme, which can award money to victims of violent crime including sexual abuse, operates under rules that automatically refuse compensation to applicants with unspent convictions, with limited exceptions.
While the policy aims to ensure public funds don't compensate those who might be partly responsible for their situation, campaigners argue it unjustly punishes victims who were forced to offend by their exploiters.
Calls for Reform and Political Action
In 2022, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommended that the government amend the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme so that applicants with unspent convictions aren't automatically excluded where offences are likely linked to their childhood sexual abuse.
The government has refused to act on this recommendation, despite growing pressure.
Labour MP Sarah Champion has tabled an amendment to the upcoming Victims and Courts Bill, hoping to implement the inquiry's recommendation and widen eligibility to the scheme.
"Victims are seen as running a cannabis farm and get a conviction, before it actually turns out that they were a victim of modern slavery," Champion explained. "These people, who are very clearly recognised as victims and survivors, aren't getting the money that's owed to them. The system is broken."
Former victims' commissioner Dame Vera Baird added: "They were not exercising their own free will and voluntarily committing crime, so there should be a discretion to look at that and say, 'No, that wasn't their fault.' They should get compensation for all the evil that was done to them."
A government spokesperson responded: "Last year, more than £164m was paid out under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme to victims, and we are going further by removing the time limit for civil personal injury claims and doubling Home Office funding for services supporting adult victims and survivors of child sexual abuse."
They added that changes to victim compensation "have been considered by successive governments, and our priority must always be to treat all victims of violence equally."
