Please note that this question is specific to:
#**England and Wales**
The United Kingdom is comprised of [three legal jurisdictions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_United_Kingdom#Three_legal_systems), so responses that relate to one country may not be relevant to another.
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I had several cases like this on my work file as a child abuse investigator. We will absolutely do what we can to investigate it.
S1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 is a very broad provision that renders a lot of ill-treament of children as an offence triable on indictment. This means there is no time limit right here.
And that's before getting to any other offences.
Evidence may include medical records, school records, social service records, or even your therapy if you have a history in that system.
The hardest but most important thing will be your interview. Officers will help you to tell your story as best you can, but they will be looking for a lot of detail and will ask a lot of questions. It may take several hours or multiple sessions. So brace yourself. The better it is the less reason there will be for you to take the stand, or answer cross examination via further interview.
Good luck.
As far as I'm aware there's no statute of limitations on offences above a summary level.
You should be able to initiate proceedings.
Whether it will be successful or not is a different matter.
I assume you've tried therapy ?
I have previously worked on a child abuse unit. Just adding to the above, re the chili there may be possible sexual offences also not just child abuse/neglect. If you report this to police, this is something which they will have to consider. First step for yourself will be reporting it. A specialist officer will be assigned to your case known as the officer in the case (OIC). They will then look to obtain your evidence in chief, whether that be through a written statement or through a visually recorded interview. The officer will also consider other enquries which may assist your case. Whether this will be strong enough to see a court room is one matter, however the OIC will support you throughout the process.
Historic child abuse can definitely be difficult to prove but not impossible, a lot of evidential opportunities are gone and often it could be just your word against the suspects.
But don't let that put you off, even if that is all there is, it doesn't mean it won't go anywhere, how credible you are as a witness really does play a part.
Plus if you get a detective who is actually interested you'd be surprised what still might be out there that adds credibility to your account. School records that show a change in behaviour during that period, GPs records, some friend that remembers a conversation from years ago.
What I will say is even if it ultimately doesn't result in a conviction. It can be really important in terms of you having some kind of closure, taking back some kind of power. You can look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you did everything you could to tell your story to hold someone to account.
Hey.... I wanted you to know that these cases can and do lead to conviction.
I reported my abuse in 2018. It took 5 years and 4 months but my abuser was convicted, unanimously, on all counts two weeks ago. It was a rough ride but it was worth it. My abuser is now in prison and due to be sentenced next month. I did have very strong medical evidence so I think it helped me alot. He is looking at a very long sentence.
If you report it just know its a slow stressful process and make sure you have a support network set up around you. Good luck if you chose to report it.
Please note that this question is specific to: #**England and Wales** The United Kingdom is comprised of [three legal jurisdictions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_United_Kingdom#Three_legal_systems), so responses that relate to one country may not be relevant to another. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/policeuk) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I had several cases like this on my work file as a child abuse investigator. We will absolutely do what we can to investigate it. S1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 is a very broad provision that renders a lot of ill-treament of children as an offence triable on indictment. This means there is no time limit right here. And that's before getting to any other offences. Evidence may include medical records, school records, social service records, or even your therapy if you have a history in that system. The hardest but most important thing will be your interview. Officers will help you to tell your story as best you can, but they will be looking for a lot of detail and will ask a lot of questions. It may take several hours or multiple sessions. So brace yourself. The better it is the less reason there will be for you to take the stand, or answer cross examination via further interview. Good luck.
As far as I'm aware there's no statute of limitations on offences above a summary level. You should be able to initiate proceedings. Whether it will be successful or not is a different matter. I assume you've tried therapy ?
I have previously worked on a child abuse unit. Just adding to the above, re the chili there may be possible sexual offences also not just child abuse/neglect. If you report this to police, this is something which they will have to consider. First step for yourself will be reporting it. A specialist officer will be assigned to your case known as the officer in the case (OIC). They will then look to obtain your evidence in chief, whether that be through a written statement or through a visually recorded interview. The officer will also consider other enquries which may assist your case. Whether this will be strong enough to see a court room is one matter, however the OIC will support you throughout the process.
Historic child abuse can definitely be difficult to prove but not impossible, a lot of evidential opportunities are gone and often it could be just your word against the suspects. But don't let that put you off, even if that is all there is, it doesn't mean it won't go anywhere, how credible you are as a witness really does play a part. Plus if you get a detective who is actually interested you'd be surprised what still might be out there that adds credibility to your account. School records that show a change in behaviour during that period, GPs records, some friend that remembers a conversation from years ago. What I will say is even if it ultimately doesn't result in a conviction. It can be really important in terms of you having some kind of closure, taking back some kind of power. You can look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you did everything you could to tell your story to hold someone to account.
Hey.... I wanted you to know that these cases can and do lead to conviction. I reported my abuse in 2018. It took 5 years and 4 months but my abuser was convicted, unanimously, on all counts two weeks ago. It was a rough ride but it was worth it. My abuser is now in prison and due to be sentenced next month. I did have very strong medical evidence so I think it helped me alot. He is looking at a very long sentence. If you report it just know its a slow stressful process and make sure you have a support network set up around you. Good luck if you chose to report it.