Number 15 of 2006
CRIMINAL LAW
(SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2006
REVISED
Updated to
11 December 2014
This Revised Act is an
administrative consolidation of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.
It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function
under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under
review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.
All Acts up
to and including Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 (34/2014),
enacted 4 December 2014, and all statutory instruments up to and including European
Union (Control of Avian Influenza) Regulations 2006 (Amendment) (No. 2)
Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 570 of 2014), made 11 December 2014, were
considered in the preparation of this revision.
Disclaimer: While every care has
been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission
can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or
warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the
information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from
any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by
email to
revisedacts@lawreform.ie.
Number 15 of 2006
CRIMINAL LAW
(SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2006
REVISED
Updated to
11 December 2014
Introduction
This Revised
Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and
preserves the format in which it was first passed.
Related legislation
This Act is
not collectively cited with any other Act.
Annotations
This Revised
Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments
made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions. A version without
annotations, showing only textual amendments, is also available.
An
explanation of how to read annotations is available at
www.lawreform.ie/annotations
Material not
updated in this revision
Where other
legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded
by other amendments in other legislation, or the
amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not
represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended
legislation if one is available.
Where
legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes
to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will
be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.
A list of
legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1999, may be
found in the Legislation Directory at www.irishstatutebook.ie.
Acts which affect or previously
affected this revision
• Taxi
Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013)
• Criminal
Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable
Persons) Act 2012 (24/2012)
• Criminal
Procedure Act 2010 (27/2010)
• Civil
Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 (14/2008)
• Criminal
Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 (8/2008)
• Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007 (6/2007)
• Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 (32/1995)
• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993
(20/1993)
• Criminal Evidence Act 1992 (12/1992)
All Acts up to and including Civil Registration (Amendment) Act
2014 (34/2014), enacted 4 December 2014, were considered in the preparation
of this revision.
Statutory instruments which
affect or previously affected this revision
• None
All statutory instruments up to and including European Union
(Control of Avian Influenza) Regulations 2006 (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations
2014 (S.I. No. 570 of 2014), made 11 December 2014, were
considered in the preparation of this revision.
Number 15 of 2006
CRIMINAL LAW
(SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2006
REVISED
Updated to
11 December 2014
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
2. Defilement of child under 15 years of age.
3. Defilement of child under the age of 17 years.
5. Female child under 17 years of age not guilty of
offence.
6. Application of certain enactments.
7. Amendment of certain enactments.
Enactments Repealed
Acts Referred to
|
1997, No. 16 |
|
|
2001, No. 24 |
|
|
1992, No. 12 |
|
|
1990, No. 32 |
|
|
1981, No. 10 |
|
|
1993, No. 20 |
|
|
1997, No. 14 |
|
|
1935, No. 6 |
|
|
2001, No. 18 |
|
|
1996, No. 38 |
Number 15 of 2006
CRIMINAL LAW
(SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2006
REVISED
Updated to
11 December 2014
AN ACT TO
PROVIDE FOR OFFENCES IN RELATION TO THE COMMISSION OF SEXUAL ACTS WITH CHILDREN
UNDER THE AGE OF 17 YEARS; AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH.
[2nd June, 2006]
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
Annotations:
Editorial Notes:
E1
Offences under Act included in definition of
“sexual offence” in Criminal Evidence Act 1992 (12/1992), s. 2,
(7.06.2008) by Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 (8/2008), s.
12(a)(ii), commenced as per s. 15(2).
E2
Entitlement of complainant to free legal
advice in a prosecution for an offence under Act provided by Civil Legal Aid
Act 1995 (32/1995), s. 26(3)(b), as amended (7.03.2007) by Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences)(Amendment) Act 2007 (6/2007), s. 3(4), commenced on
enactment, and subsequently amended (20.07.2008) by Civil Law (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act 2008 (14/2008), s. 78(b), S.I. No. 274 of 2008.
1
Definitions.
1.— In this Act—
“Act of
1981” means the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981;
“Act of
1990” means the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990;
“person in authority” means—
(a) a parent, step-parent, guardian, grandparent, uncle or aunt
of the victim,
(b) any person who is, for the time being, in loco parentis
to the victim, or
(c) any person who is, for the time being, responsible for the
education, supervision or welfare of the victim;
“sexual act” means—
(a) an act consisting of—
(i) sexual intercourse, or
(ii) buggery,
between persons who are not married to each other, or
(b) an act described in section 3(1) or 4(1) of the Act of 1990;
“sexual intercourse” shall be construed in accordance with
section 1(2) of the Act of 1981.
2
Defilement
of child under 15 years of age.
2.— (1) Any person who engages in
a sexual act with a child who is under the age of 15 years shall be guilty of
an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for
life or a lesser term of imprisonment.
(2) Any
person who attempts to engage in a sexual act with a child who is under the age
of 15 years shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on
indictment to imprisonment for life or a lesser term of imprisonment.
(3) It shall
be a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section for the defendant
to prove that he or she honestly believed that, at the time of the alleged
commission of the offence, the child against whom the offence is alleged to
have been committed had attained the age of 15 years.
(4) Where,
in proceedings for an offence under this section, it falls to the court to
consider whether the defendant honestly believed that, at the time of the
alleged commission of the offence, the child against whom the offence is
alleged to have been committed had attained the age of 15 years, the court
shall have regard to the presence or absence of reasonable grounds for the
defendant’s so believing and all other relevant circumstances.
(5) It shall
not be a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section for the
defendant to prove that the child against whom the offence is alleged to have
been committed consented to the sexual act of which the offence consisted.
Annotations:
Modifications (not altering
text):
C1
C2
C3
Scope of section extended by Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences) Act 1993 (20/1993), s. 6, as substituted (7.03.2007) by Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007 (6/2007), s. 2, commenced on
enactment.
Soliciting or importuning for purposes of commission of sexual
offence.
6.— (1) A person who solicits or
importunes a child (whether or not for the purposes of prostitution) for the
purposes of the commission of an act that would constitute an offence—
(a) under section 2 or 3 of the Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006, or
(b) referred to in section 2 of the Act
of 1990,
shall be guilty of an offence.
...
Editorial Notes:
E3
Offence under section included in definition
of “specified offence” for purposes of Taxi Regulation Act 2013
(37/2013) (6.04.2014) by Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013), s. 30 and
sch. part 1 item 11, S.I. No. 163 of 2014.
E4
Offence under section included in sch. 1
(offences against children for purposes of offence under s. 2) to Criminal
Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable
Persons) Act 2012 (24/2012) (1.08.2012) by Criminal Justice (Withholding
of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012
(24/2012), s. 2 and sch. 1, S.I. No. 281 of 2012.
E5
Offence under section included in definition
of “relevant offence” for purposes of Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (27/2010),
part 3, (1.09.2010) by Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (27/2010), s. 7 and
sch., S.I. No. 414 of 2010.
3
Defilement
of child under the age of 17 years.
3.— (1) Any person who engages in
a sexual act with a child who is under the age of 17 years shall be guilty of
an offence and shall, subject to subsection (3) ,
be liable on conviction on indictment—
(a) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or
(b) if he or she is a person in authority, to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding 10 years.
(2) Any
person who attempts to engage in a sexual act with a child who is under the age
of 17 years shall be guilty of an offence and shall, subject to subsection (4) be liable on conviction on indictment—
(a) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding F1[5 years], or
(b) if he or she is a person in authority, to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding F1[10 years].
(3) A person
who has been convicted of an offence under subsection (1) shall, in respect of any subsequent
conviction of an offence under that subsection, be liable on conviction on
indictment—
(a) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or
(b) if he or she is a person in authority, to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding 15 years.
(4) A person
who has been convicted of an offence under subsection (2) shall, in respect of any subsequent
conviction of an offence under that subsection be liable on conviction on
indictment—
(a) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding F1[10 years], or
(b) if he or she is a person in authority, to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding F1[15 years].
(5) It shall
be a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section for the defendant
to prove that he or she honestly believed that, at the time of the alleged
commission of the offence, the child against whom the offence is alleged to
have been committed had attained the age of 17 years.
(6) Where,
in proceedings for an offence under this section, it falls to the court to
consider whether the defendant honestly believed that, at the time of the
alleged commission of the offence, the child against whom the offence is
alleged to have been committed had attained the age of 17 years, the court
shall have regard to the presence or absence of reasonable grounds for the
defendant’s so believing and all other relevant circumstances.
(7) It shall
not be a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section for the
defendant to prove that the child against whom the offence is alleged to have
been committed consented to the sexual act of which the offence consisted.
(8) An
offence under subsection (2) shall be an arrestable offence for the purposes of the Criminal Law Act
1997.
(9) No
proceedings for an offence under this section against a child under the age of
17 years shall be brought except by, or with the consent of, the Director of
Public Prosecutions.
(10) A
person who—
(a) has been convicted of an offence under this section, and
(b) is not more than 24 months older than the child under the
age of 17 years with whom he or she engaged or attempted to engage in a sexual
act,
shall not be
subject to the provisions of the Sex Offenders Act 2001.
Annotations:
Amendments:
F1
Substituted
(7.03.2007) by Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007
(6/2007), s. 5(1), commenced on enactment.
Modifications (not altering
text):
C4
Scope of section extended (7.03.2007) by Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 (20/1993), s. 6, as substituted by Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007 (6/2007), s. 2, commenced on
enactment.
Soliciting
or importuning for purposes of commission of sexual offence.
6.— (1) A person who solicits or
importunes a child (whether or not for the purposes of prostitution) for the
purposes of the commission of an act that would constitute an offence—
(a) under section 2 or 3 of the Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006, or
(b) referred to in section 2 of the Act
of 1990,
shall be guilty of an offence.
...
Editorial Notes:
E6
Offence under section included in definition
of “specified offence” for purposes of Taxi Regulation Act 2013
(37/2013) (6.04.2014) by Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013), s. 30 and
sch. part 2 item 7, S.I. No. 163 of 2014.
E7
Offence under section included in sch. 1
(offences against children for purposes of offence under s. 2) to Criminal
Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable
Persons) Act 2012 (24/2012) (1.08.2012) by Criminal Justice (Withholding
of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012
(24/2012), s. 2 and sch. 1, S.I. No. 281 of 2012.
4
Summary
trial of offences.
4.— (1) The District Court may try
summarily a person charged with an offence under section 2 (2) or 3 (2) if—
(a) the court is of opinion that the facts alleged constitute a
minor offence fit to be tried summarily,
(b) the accused, on being informed by the court of his or her
right to be tried with a jury, does not object to being tried summarily for the
offence, and
(c) the Director of Public Prosecutions consents to the accused
being tried summarily for the offence.
(2) Upon
conviction of a person by the District Court of an offence under this section,
the person shall be liable to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
5
Female child
under 17 years of age not guilty of offence.
5.— A female child under the age of
17 years shall not be guilty of an offence under this Act by reason only of her
engaging in an act of sexual intercourse.
6
Application
of certain enactments.
6.— (1) Sections 3 and 4 of the
Act of 1981 shall apply in relation to an offence under this Act subject to the
modification that references in those sections to “sexual assault offence”
shall be construed as including references to an offence under this Act.
F2[(1A)
References in section 3 of the Act of 1981 to jury shall, in the case of
summary proceedings for an offence under this Act, be construed as references
to court.]
(2) Section
4A of the Act of 1981 is amended, in subsection (6), by the insertion after
“rape offence” of “, an offence under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act
2006”.
(3) Sections
6, 7 and 8 of the Act of 1981 shall apply in relation to an offence under this
Act subject to the modification that references in
those sections to—
(a) “sexual assault offence” shall be construed as including
references to an offence under this Act, and
(b) “rape offence” shall be construed as including references to
an offence under this Act.
Annotations:
Amendments:
F2
Inserted
(7.03.2007) by Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007
(6/2007), s. 5(2), commenced on enactment.
7
Amendment of
certain enactments.
7.— (1) Section 8 of the Act of 1990
is amended—
(a)
in subsection (2), by the substitution of “section 2
or 3 of the Criminal Law (Sexual
Offences) Act 2006” for “section 1 or 2 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act
1935”, and
(b) in subsection (5), by—
(i) the substitution of “section 2 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act
2006” for “section 1 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935”,
(ii) the
substitution of “section 3 of the Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006” for “section 2 of the Criminal Law
Amendment Act 1935”, and
(iii) the substitution of “the said section 3 or section 3 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act
2006,” for “the said section 2 or 3”.
(2) Section
2 of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 is amended, in the definition of “sexual
offence”, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (iv):
“(iv) the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 or
section 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993;”.
(3) The
Schedule to the Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 is amended by—
(a) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 1:
“1. Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.”,
and
(b) the deletion of paragraphs 2, 7 and 8.
(4) The
Schedule to the Bail Act 1997 is amended by the substitution of the following
paragraph for paragraph 10:
“10. An
offence under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.”.
(5) The
Schedule to the Sex Offenders Act 2001 is amended by—
(a) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 7:
“7. An
offence under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.”,
and
(b) the deletion of paragraph 8.
(6) Schedule
1 to the Children Act 2001 is amended by the substitution of the following
paragraph for paragraph 4:
“4. Any
offence under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.”.
8
Repeals.
8.— The enactments specified in the Schedule
are repealed to the extent specified in column (3) thereof.
9
Short title.
9.— This Act may be cited as the
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.
SCHEDULE
Enactments
Repealed
|
Number and Year |
Short title |
Extent of Repeal |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
|
No. 6 of 1935 |
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935 |
Sections 1(2) and 2 |
|
No. 20 of 1993 |
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 |
Sections 3 and 4 |