Where 30-40 years have elapsed between alleged sexual offences and trial, and the complainant was a young child at the time, a Longman warning must address: the possibility of distortion in the complainant's memory; the risk of confusion between multiple alleged offenders where the complainant alleges abuse by more than one person; the forensic disadvantage arising from the death of potential witnesses; and the warning must be delivered emphatically as deriving from the special experience of the courts, not merely as a legal formality. The word 'dangerous' need not be used; 'unsafe' is sufficient.
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