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Before a charging decision

Sexual Offence Pre-Charge Investigations

If you are under investigation for a sexual offence but have not been charged, the period before the charging decision can be critical. We review the allegation, interview account, communications, digital material, CCTV or location evidence, witness evidence and investigation status, then advise whether focused enquiries or written pre-charge representations are justified.

Request a pre-charge reviewPolice interview not happened yet?

IS THIS THE RIGHT STAGE?

Are you at the right stage for pre-charge representations?

The opportunity usually exists after the allegation and interview are understood but before a final charging decision. The question is not whether a letter can be sent; it is whether there is defence material, a missing enquiry, a legal issue or a public-interest point capable of improving the information on which the police or CPS will decide.

Interview completedYou have given an account and the investigation remains open.
On pre-charge bailYou have a bail return or review date and a charging decision may be approaching.
Released under investigationThere is no fixed bail date, but the police are still gathering or reviewing evidence.
File with the CPSThe case may already be with a reviewing prosecutor, but no final charge has been authorised.
Send us the key facts firstAllegation • police force • interview date • bail/RUI status • next date • core defence material
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What can pre-charge defence do in a sexual offence investigation?

Sexual offence investigations can turn on closely contested issues of fact, identification, consent or reasonable belief in consent where legally relevant, age or capacity in some offences, and what the surrounding communications and conduct show. The defence should identify the actual issue in the case rather than rely on general assertions or stereotypes.

Pre-charge work can place relevant defence material before the investigator or prosecutor while the case is still being assessed. It can also identify reasonable, proportionate lines of enquiry that point towards or away from the suspect, including relevant digital communications, CCTV, location material or independent witnesses.

When early intervention may matter

Early intervention may be useful where contemporaneous messages provide important context, CCTV or location evidence may be lost with time, an independent witness has not been approached, the interview account identifies a specific enquiry, digital material has been misunderstood, or the allegation depends on a factual proposition that can be tested against objective evidence.

Timing matters.

Representations should usually be made when the defence understands enough of the allegation to make targeted submissions and while the decision-maker can still act on them. Sending an unfocused letter too early can be ineffective; waiting until after charge can remove the opportunity altogether.

How we analyse a sexual offence investigation before charge

We start with the precise alleged offence, the complainant's account as disclosed, the client's interview and the known chronology. We then map communications, meetings, travel or location evidence, CCTV, witnesses, medical or forensic material where relevant, and any device or third-party evidence that may bear on a genuine issue in the case.

The strategy is evidence-led. Any request for further material must have a proper foundation and be proportionate; private or third-party material should not be sought speculatively. Where the client's account identifies a reasonable line of enquiry, we can explain why it matters to the charging assessment and what should be preserved or obtained.

What can pre-charge representations ask the decision-maker to consider?

Where the evidence supports it, representations may invite no further action, identify why a proposed charge is not supported, or ask for specified enquiries to be completed before a final decision. They cannot guarantee an outcome. In serious sexual allegations the central task is to ensure the charging decision is made on a fair, complete and properly analysed evidential picture.

What should you send us for the first review?

ChronologyA clear sequence of events, including key communications and dates.
DocumentsMessages, emails, records, photographs, receipts or other relevant material.
Witness materialPotential witnesses who can address disputed or contextual facts.
Personal impactEmployment, professional, health or family consequences where legally relevant.

Sexual offence investigation FAQs

What are reasonable lines of enquiry in a sexual offence investigation?

They are enquiries that are reasonable in the context of the particular allegation and may point towards or away from the suspect. Depending on the issues, they can include specific communications, CCTV, location evidence, witnesses, digital material or properly founded third-party material. Speculative trawling is not the test.

Does the police have to examine every message or third-party record?

No. Current disclosure guidance requires a proportionate, issue-led approach. Large digital datasets can be searched using appropriate methods rather than every item being read individually, and private or third-party material should only be pursued where there is a proper evidential foundation.

What is a Disclosure Management Document in a RASSO case?

Current CPS guidance requires a Disclosure Management Document in rape and serious sexual offence cases. It records the prosecution approach to disclosure and reasonable lines of enquiry so that the strategy is transparent and can be kept under review. Further work required before charge can also be identified through a pre-charge action plan.

Can pre-charge representations address consent or reasonable belief in consent?

Where those issues are legally relevant to the alleged offence, yes. Any representation should be tied to the actual evidence, chronology, communications and objective material rather than stereotypes or general assertions.

Can pre-charge representations guarantee no further action?

No. They can identify evidential weaknesses, missing enquiries, legal issues or objective defence material that should be considered before the police or CPS makes a final charging decision, but the outcome remains with the investigator or prosecutor.

LEGAL GUIDEUpdated 30 September 2026

Prepared by Theodorous. Principal Solicitor: Paris Theodorou.

Official sourcesCPS Rape and Sexual Offences Prosecution GuidanceCPS Disclosure Manual: Digital MaterialAttorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure — GOV.UKCode for Crown Prosecutors — CPS

WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY PAYING FOR

What do you receive if you instruct us?

The value is in identifying the points capable of affecting the decision, obtaining or preserving the right material, and presenting the defence case in a form the investigator or prosecutor can properly assess.

Case and charging analysisWe identify the alleged offence, the issues the prosecution would need to prove, the present investigation stage and the realistic decisions available before charge.
Defence evidence planWe identify messages, CCTV, records, witnesses, expert material or other evidence that may undermine the allegation, support the defence account or expose a missing line of enquiry.
Written representationsWhere the timing and evidence justify it, we prepare structured submissions addressing evidential sufficiency, legal issues, reasonable enquiries, public interest and any lawful alternative to prosecution.
Follow-up and next-step adviceWe send the representations to the appropriate decision-maker, deal with sensible follow-up where required and advise on the response, further investigation or any charging decision.

When paid pre-charge work may not be justified

Sometimes the correct advice is not to send representations yet. We may advise that better evidence should first be obtained, a particular enquiry should be requested, the interview position should be protected, or a defence point should not be disclosed prematurely. If a letter would add little, be disproportionate to the issue or create unnecessary strategic risk, we will say so. No solicitor can guarantee that a charge will be avoided.

Current legal frameworkOur approach is grounded in the current Code for Crown Prosecutors, the Director’s Guidance on Charging and the disclosure framework. As at September 2026 the CPS is consulting on a draft ninth edition of the Code; that draft is not yet the operative Code and is not relied on as if it were in force.
Code for Crown ProsecutorsDirector's Guidance on ChargingAttorney General's Disclosure Guidelines

Pre-charge strategy

The defence should address the real evidential issue

A strong pre-charge strategy does not assume that a sexual allegation is proved or disproved by one feature in isolation. It identifies the prosecution issue, tests the client's account against the available evidence and focuses on material capable of changing the objective charging assessment.

Communications, chronology and objective evidence

Messages, call data, CCTV, location material, photographs, travel records and independent witnesses can sometimes test an important factual proposition. Their significance depends on the issue in the case; absence of corroboration does not by itself prevent a prosecution.

Reasonable lines of enquiry

Investigators must pursue reasonable lines of enquiry that point towards or away from the suspect. We can identify a focused enquiry arising from the defence account, but requests for private, digital or third-party material must be relevant, proportionate and based on more than speculation.

In rape and serious sexual offence (RASSO) cases, current CPS guidance requires reasonable lines of enquiry to be kept under review and the prosecution approach to disclosure to be recorded in a Disclosure Management Document. Where further work is required before charge, the CPS can identify it in a pre-charge action plan. A defence request should therefore identify the evidential issue, the material or enquiry sought and why it is reasonably capable of affecting the charging assessment.

Consent, identification and offence-specific issues

The legal issue varies with the alleged offence. Depending on the case it may include whether sexual activity occurred, identity, consent and reasonable belief in consent, age or capacity, the nature of an alleged act, or another statutory ingredient. We analyse the actual offence rather than applying generic assumptions.

Charging test and case strategy

Prosecutors apply the Code for Crown Prosecutors to the evidence, including the impact of a defence and other information put forward by the suspect. Serious sexual allegations require careful, case-specific analysis; the defence should concentrate on legally relevant evidence rather than myths or assumptions.

Material commonly reviewed in a sexual offence investigation

  • a detailed signed account or witness statement from the client where tactically appropriate;
  • messages, emails, call data and social-media records preserved in original form;
  • CCTV, doorbell footage, photographs and location material;
  • employment, medical, education or character material where it is genuinely relevant;
  • documents showing ownership, payment, consent, authority or chronology;
  • expert or specialist evidence where the issue cannot fairly be resolved without it;
  • a schedule identifying the exact enquiries or material sought from investigators.
Timing matters: representations are usually more useful before the file is finally determined. If a charging decision appears imminent, tell us the bail or review date and provide the core papers as early as possible.
FEES & SCOPEWe scope the work around the decision that is actually approaching.A defined private instruction can include review of the allegation and interview, analysis of the available evidence, an evidence or enquiry plan, written pre-charge representations and proportionate follow-up. Where the scope can be identified in advance we can quote a fixed fee. Larger evidence sets, witness work, conferences, expert material or continuing liaison may require a wider scope. We confirm the work and fee before starting.
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UNDERSTAND THE STAGE

Guides linked to pre-charge strategy

Pre-charge engagement guideThe recognised voluntary process after interview and before charge, including enquiries and disclosure considerations.What happens after a police interview?Bail, RUI, further enquiries, charging decisions and the practical steps to take while the case remains open.Released under investigationWhat RUI means, how the investigation continues and why an open-ended investigation still needs active case management.Pre-charge bailBail conditions, review dates, investigation management and the relationship between bail and the charging timetable.

Before charge

If the sexual offence investigation is still open, the pre-charge stage matters.

Send us the alleged offence, investigating force, interview date, bail or RUI position, next known date and the core material you believe matters. We can assess whether there is a defined, evidence-led intervention to make before the charging decision.

Request a pre-charge case review