A rapist escaped a jail sentence for their crime, despite a previous conviction for the same offence.
The criminal in Yorkshire and the Humber was not given a custodial sentence for the crime at a court appearance in 2015, despite a previous conviction for rape.
This was just one of many sentences which were revealed by a Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Justice.
In other examples a burglar was not given a custodial sentence for the crime at a court appearance in 2015, despite 28 previous burglary offences and 56 total previous convictions, making them the most prolific burglar in the region to avoid jail for an offence last year.
Despite eight previous convictions for sexual offences, excluding rape, and a total of 18 previous convictions, one criminal escaped jail in 2015 for committing a sexual offence.
One criminal with 22 previous convictions for violence against the person, and a total of 53 previous convictions, was not jailed for the offence last year.
A criminal who avoided jail for drug offences last year had 15 previous drug convictions, as part of a total 22 previous convictions.
One offender avoided prison for stealing a car, despite three previous convictions for the same offence and a total of 17 previous convictions.
A robber with three previous convictions for the same offence, and a total of 21 previous convictions, was also among those avoiding a jail sentence.
In the above cases, the person convicted received a non-custodial sentence for their most recent conviction in 2015, however, they may have been jailed for the same offence on previous convictions.
The Ministry of Justice said: “While crime is falling more offenders are going to prison and for longer. For the first time in ten years, an immediate prison sentence is the most common punishment handed down by the court for adults convicted of indictable offences.
“The Government has taken tough action to make sure offenders are properly punished. It has made community orders more punitive, banned cautions for serious offences and introduced an automatic life sentence for a second very serious violent or sexual offence, among many other changes.
“Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary and a court may only impose a community order or a custodial sentence where the offence is imprisonable.
“Crime has fallen since 2010 and offenders committing the most serious offences are more likely to go to prison and for longer. It is for independent judges to make sentencing decisions, based on the facts of the case they are hearing.
“The Government wants to stop persistent offenders going through the system again and again. That is why it has made radical changes to the way offenders are rehabilitated, so that all adult sentenced prisoners will now get at least 12 months supervision after release and providers will be paid by results in reducing re-offending.”
