information:filtering
England and Wales

Similar fact evidence can be used even if the original "misconduct" could not be prosecuted due to duress or the offender's youth. In a case of a Devon family imprisoned in 1998, one of the defendants appealed his conviction for raping his sister at the age of 16, suggesting it was unlikely that she would not complain or seek help. It was held that the evidence that his father had coerced him into sexual acts with his other sisters as a child was similar fact evidence and, in addition to the systematic long-term sexual activity and abuse within the family, sufficient to explain why he felt that he could get away with abusing her and knew she could not rely on her family for protection; his appeal failed.