Sexual assault of a child aged 16 or 17 under care, supervision or authority
49E Sexual assault of a child aged 16 or 17 under care, supervision or authority
S. 49E inserted by No. 47/2016 s. 16.
A person (A) commits an offence if—
A intentionally—
touches another person (B); or
causes or allows B to touch A; or
causes B—
to touch, or to continue to touch, themselves; or
to touch, or to continue to touch, another person (C); or
to be touched, or to continue to be touched, by C; and
B is—
a child aged 16 or 17 years; and
under A's care, supervision or authority; and
the touching is—
sexual; and
contrary to community standards of acceptable conduct.
A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable to level 6 imprisonment (5 years maximum).
Whether or not the touching is contrary to community standards of acceptable conduct depends on the circumstances.
For the purposes of subsection (3)—
the circumstances include—
the purpose of the touching; and
whether A seeks or gets sexual arousal or sexual gratification from the touching;
the circumstances do not include—
whether B consents to the touching; or
whether A believes that B consents to the touching.
Notes
1 An exception applies to this offence—see section 49Y.
2 Defences apply to this offence—see sections 49X, 49Z and 49ZA.
3 A mistaken but honest and reasonable belief that the touching was not sexual or contrary to community standards of acceptable conduct is not a defence to this offence—see section 49ZC.
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