By Adam Evans
New figures show a large rise in the number of police files on sex offences being passed to prosecutors in Northern Ireland.
The PPS says it's received more 1,500 files linked to sexual offences between 2017 and 2018 a rise of 23.1% on the year before.
They are among the nearly 42,400 files received by prosecutors here according to the latest figures.
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Herron says the PPS is committed to prosecuting allegations of serious sex offending where there is the evidence to do so and has urged victims to have the confidence to come forward.
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