If the defendant pleads guilty it means that they admit to committing the offence they were charged with. If they plead guilty before the trial starts, then there won’t be a trial and you won’t have to give evidence.
If the defendant changes their plea to guilty during the trial then the trial will stop. A sentencing hearing will usually be scheduled for a later date. Sentencing is when the Judge decides what will happen to the offender.
If the defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty, you may be given the opportunity to attend a restorative justice conference(external link). This would happen before sentencing.
If you have made a victim impact statement, the Judge will consider this before sentencing the offender. At sentencing, there may be an opportunity for you, or someone you’ve chosen, to read out all (or parts) of your victim impact statement or you can choose not to have it read out at all.