Action must be taken to tackle a “worrying” increase in child sex abuse cases in Cayman, said Director of Public Prosecutions Simon Davis.
He was speaking after he outlined some notable sentences handed down in the courts last year at the recent opening of the Grand Court for the new legal year.
Davis warned that the problem would require specialist prosecutors to help crack down on offenders.
“There has been a notable rise in cases involving child sexual exploitation,” he said. “This increase will require greater capacity to ensure appropriately trained crown counsel are in place to protect the interests of children and vulnerable witnesses.”
Davis added, “The worrying upward trend in this type of case is also something very much, I know, on the radar of this government.”
Davis highlighted two rape cases, where one defendant was sentenced to 16 years for an offence involving an 11-year-old and another was given 12 years for a sexual assault on a 12-year-old.
More complex cases
Davis added that cases dealt with by his office were also becoming more complicated.
“Complexity in case work is also on the increase, whether it involves disclosure to do with numerous digital devices or consideration of cases involving, for instance, decentralised autonomous organisations,” he said.
Decentralised autonomous organisations are blockchain-based internet entities with no leadership in the conventional sense.
Davis said, “One wouldn’t have thought one would be looking at cases like that in the Grand Court 10 years ago.”
He added that prosecutors must be “resourceful and alive” to extraordinary circumstances which might present themselves.
Davis said, “Recruitment of designated complex case lawyers is the only way to tackle this technical complexity, especially where capacity is already strained to cover the work.”
He added the criminal justice system “cries out” for an update to the disclosure framework to allow for technological advances, where masses of data could be stored on a simple mobile phone.
But Davis said that digitalisation and innovation “is not an option for the prosecutor” and the system had to keep pace.
He said prosecutors needed “the capacity and means to prosecute cases as technological advance continues apace”.
AI vital
Davis said that artificial intelligence (AI) was a vital tool for the future, and that he was “acutely aware of the benefits, advantages and potential dangers” of the technology.
“Without embracing the concept, we are in danger of being left behind and it’s hoped that appropriate funding can be put in place to develop an AI model to ensure the office remains ahead of the technological curve.”
Davis said public prosecutors already had systems to prosecute cases without paper, but that others had not advanced as fast.
He explained his office still got requests for bundles of evidence as hard copies, sometimes involving thousands of pages, and that “needed to end”.
Davis said that international legal assistance was important and had several benefits.
He added that it was vital to get the message out that Cayman was “serious about establishing and maintaining relationships” and helping other jurisdictions.
Davis said it also underlined the jurisdiction’s determination to tackle money laundering, terrorist financing, modern slavery, people trafficking, drug trafficking and other organised crime.
He highlighted that his office continued to work with other agencies to prepare Cayman for an inspection by the Financial Action Task force in 2027.
Davis said Cayman faced “a stark choice” between a “controlled prosecution grade AI model” and “ad hoc use of external tools by staff”.
“By the end of 2026, we should not be asking ‘do we use AI’?,” he said. “We should be in a position to say we control, and I emphasise the word control, a prosecution-grade AI model which protects justice, victims and the public interest.”
