MHKs have voted to give anonymity to people accused of rape and sex offences - up until the point of conviction.

Under current law, all defendants in court cases can be identified publicly.

But the Sexual Offences and Obscene Publications Bill plans to change that - so that accused sex offenders can only be named if and when found guilty. Last week MHKs rejected an attempt to remove that provision from the draft legislation.

During last week’s debate on the Sexual Offences Bill, Daphne Caine (Garff) attempted to amend the provision that will give defendants in rape or sexual offence cases would have a right to anonymity unless and up until they are convicted.

She wanted the law to allow for a defendant to be named from their first court appearance after being charged - but with provision for the court to have the power to decide their identity should be protected.

The MHK pointed out that in many investigations into sexual offences, when a suspect or defendant was named, it led to other victims coming forward with information that the police were previously unaware of.

Mrs Caine, a former journalist, raised concerns that the provision could lead to defendants in other court cases being granted anonymity up until conviction.

She warned that it would over-turn a ’centuries-old custom’ of justice taking place in open court and ’could lead to an apparently secretive court process that would go against the principle of justice being seen to be done’.

’These reporting restrictions would be a step too far,’ she said. ’I am deeply concerned it will spread to other offences. Such secrecy in future could result in miscarriages of justice.’

Mrs Caine also criticised the ’apparent equalising’ of rights for the alleged offender and victim.

She also queried how it would work in relation to offences not committed in the Isle of Man - whether local media could be subject to sanction for reporting on off-island cases that would have led to anonymity to the defendant in the island.

But when she argued that if there was adequate evidence to bring a case to court, ’there must have been a case to answer’ she was loudly scoffed at by some MHKs.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle accused Mrs Caine of using a ’no smoke without fire’ argument on prosecutions. He also claimed she was slighting ’my good friends in the press’, by suggesting that the law change might lead to a reduction in media coverage of court cases.

But Kate Costain (LibVannin, Douglas South), while describing some of Mrs Caine’s comments as ’ill-advised’, urged MHKs to concentrate on the wording of the amendments than rather any rhetoric.

She pleaded: ’You are voting on what is written on the order paper today.’

Home Affairs Minister Bill Malarkey opposed the amendment.

’You are innocent until you are proven guilty,’ he said.

He referred to cases where accusations were withdrawn, but said by that point the damage was done, particularly in a small community.

’If somebody is wrongfully accused of something and social media gets hold of it, they may as well leave this island,’ he said.

The minister argued that once someone convicted was named, that would still encourage witnesses in other cases to come forward.

Dr Alex Allinson, the MHK in charge of the bill, said there would remain provision for the police to seek for a court to lift any ban on naming a defendant, and the court itself would have the discretion to lift it.

It is unclear whether it was in reaction to his own minister’s comments, but Dr Allinson stressed the policy was not about the department not believing people make false allegations.

’This is not about denigrating the integrity of people who are brave enough to bring attention to the courts and the police.’

He said it would make the system more robust and would avoid ’trial by media’ and was not about being more secretive.

Dr Allinson insisted that the law change would not create a precedent for anonymity in other offences.

In answer to a later question about anonymity rules, Dr Allinson appeared to concede that the media outlets outside the island would not be affected.

’Unfortunately other media outside our island can ignore that at their will,’ he said. ’We have to be pragmatic about this we can only make laws for our own country.’

He said he would ’hope’ international media would respect any law change but appeared to admit the island would not be able to stop outside media groups naming defendants in cases where island media could not.

Last month MHKs gave their backing to provisions of the Domestic Abuse Bill that will give people the right to know whether their partner has a violent past.

Last week paedophile Dean Wales, a former cricket coach, was jailed for a series of sex assaults on teenage boys over a 14-year period.

After he first appeared in court as a defendant, another victim came forward after reading the press coverage.