Child Sexual Assault
You may be charged with Child Sexual Assault if you have had sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 16.
Sexual intercourse includes oral sex, anal sex and penetration by inserting objects.
If you have had sex with a child between 10 and 14 years old, this carries a full time gaol imprisonment of 16 years. Where it is an aggravated offence, this carries a full time gaol imprisonment of 20 years.
If you have had sex with a child between 14 and 16 years old, this carries a full time gaol imprisonment of 10 years. Where it is an aggravated offence, this carries a full time gaol imprisonment of 12 years.
What is aggravation?
Aggravation means circumstances in which:
(a) at the time of, or immediately before or after, the commission of the offence, the alleged offender intentionally or recklessly inflicts actual bodily harm on the alleged victim or any other person who is present or nearby, or
(b) at the time of, or immediately before or after, the commission of the offence, the alleged offender threatens to inflict actual bodily harm on the alleged victim or any other person who is present or nearby by means of an offensive weapon or instrument, or
(c) the alleged offender is in the company of another person or persons, or
(d) the alleged victim is (whether generally or at the time of the commission of the offence) under the authority of the alleged offender, or
(e) the alleged victim has a serious physical disability, or
(f) the alleged victim has a cognitive impairment, or
(g) the alleged offender took advantage of the alleged victim being under the influence of alcohol or a drug in order to commit the offence, or
(h) the alleged offender deprives the alleged victim of his or her liberty for a period before or after the commission of the offence, or
(i) the alleged offender breaks and enters into any dwelling-house or other building with the intention of committing the offence or any other serious indictable offence.
Do I have a defence?
In the case of CTM v The Queen, a girl had been out drinking with two friends where they ended up at the offender's flat where he was also drinking with four other people. The girl fell asleep and was moved to a bedroom and her friends had left. The offender and two other people allegedly sexually assaulted the victim. The offender and and the victim had become friends that year through going to the same high school. The offender was 17 years old and in year 11. He told the police that he thought the girl was in year 10 and that she had told him some time before that she was 16. She was in fact 15 years old and in year 9. The High Court held that the defence of having an honest and reasonable mistake as to the person's age did exist, but in this case, the offender could not rely on it.
You may be charged with Child Sexual Assault if you have had sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 16.
Sexual intercourse includes oral sex, anal sex and penetration by inserting objects.
If you have had sex with a child between 10 and 14 years old, this carries a full time gaol imprisonment of 16 years. Where it is an aggravated offence, this carries a full time gaol imprisonment of 20 years.
If you have had sex with a child between 14 and 16 years old, this carries a full time gaol imprisonment of 10 years. Where it is an aggravated offence, this carries a full time gaol imprisonment of 12 years.
What is aggravation?
Aggravation means circumstances in which:
(a) at the time of, or immediately before or after, the commission of the offence, the alleged offender intentionally or recklessly inflicts actual bodily harm on the alleged victim or any other person who is present or nearby, or
(b) at the time of, or immediately before or after, the commission of the offence, the alleged offender threatens to inflict actual bodily harm on the alleged victim or any other person who is present or nearby by means of an offensive weapon or instrument, or
(c) the alleged offender is in the company of another person or persons, or
(d) the alleged victim is (whether generally or at the time of the commission of the offence) under the authority of the alleged offender, or
(e) the alleged victim has a serious physical disability, or
(f) the alleged victim has a cognitive impairment, or
(g) the alleged offender took advantage of the alleged victim being under the influence of alcohol or a drug in order to commit the offence, or
(h) the alleged offender deprives the alleged victim of his or her liberty for a period before or after the commission of the offence, or
(i) the alleged offender breaks and enters into any dwelling-house or other building with the intention of committing the offence or any other serious indictable offence.
Do I have a defence?
In the case of CTM v The Queen, a girl had been out drinking with two friends where they ended up at the offender's flat where he was also drinking with four other people. The girl fell asleep and was moved to a bedroom and her friends had left. The offender and two other people allegedly sexually assaulted the victim. The offender and and the victim had become friends that year through going to the same high school. The offender was 17 years old and in year 11. He told the police that he thought the girl was in year 10 and that she had told him some time before that she was 16. She was in fact 15 years old and in year 9. The High Court held that the defence of having an honest and reasonable mistake as to the person's age did exist, but in this case, the offender could not rely on it.
