Law Weblog

R v G [2006] CA

Saturday 6 May 2006 at 4:22 pm | In News | Post Comment

[Mens rea – strict liability – sexual intercourse girl under 13 is rape]
D aged 15 had sex with a girl aged 12 in his room he believed her to be 15. Sex with a child under 13 irrespective of consent amounts to rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and so D pleaded guilty on legal advice.

Held: The offence was sexual intercourse with a person under 13, whether the victim consented or not and whether or not the defendant reasonably believed that the child was 13 or over.

Parliament could enact and enforce a crime of strict liability The Human Rights Act was not engaged.

A judge should normally be able, by an appropriate sentence, to ensure that there was no interference with the defendant’s art 8 right.  The appropriate sentence was a 12-month conditional discharge. The notification requirement would end with it and he would not thereafter be deemed to have a conviction.

Guilty