A count in an indictment charging a statutory offence is valid if it alleges the essential factual ingredients of the offence, even if it does not precisely replicate the statutory language — in particular, stating the victim's actual age is sufficient without specifying the statutory age range. Where an indictment period straddles a legislative amendment that changed the maximum penalty but not the essential elements, the offender must be sentenced on the basis of the lower maximum penalty if the timing cannot be determined. The question whether s 21(4) of the Criminal Procedure Act permits amendment of an indictment after verdict was left open.
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