Hundreds of sex abuse victims have had payments from a government compensation scheme slashed due to their previous convictions for often minor offences.
In the past two years, 103 victims of rape and sexual assault lost out on a total of £244,000 because of a loophole in the scheme, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority revealed.
Over five years, a total of 253 victims had payments cut due to past crimes.
Administrators of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme can dock payments if a claimant has past convictions, fails to co-operate with police or unduly delays reporting the offence.
One person had £4,400 taken from their compensation because of a previous conviction for allowing a dog to be out of control in a public place after their pet attacked someone.
Another lost £4,400 because they had previously breached a bylaw, while another victim lost £2,700 for breaching the Regulation of Railways Act.
One person who had been convicted of wasting police time lost £3,300.
The biggest penalty was £9,075, taken from a person convicted of driving while on their mobile, drink-driving, assaulting a police officer and racially aggravated harassment.
Several victims with drug convictions had their payments cut, with the penalties ranging from £300 to £4,400.
Rape Crisis England and Wales said: “It is grossly unfair that payments can be reduced over unrelated, and often relatively minor, past convictions.
“It is especially inappropriate when we consider that victims of some sexual offences, such as those who are groomed as children for sexual exploitation and abuse, are also groomed by their abusers to commit crime as a tactic to control and silence them.
“As well as this, drug and alcohol dependencies can be negative coping strategies adopted by some survivors.”
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “It is only fair that those who have been convicted of crimes which have harmed others receive less taxpayers’ money in compensation.”
