Abusing Children - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition abusing-children

Definition :

Abusing children, having carnal intercourse with young girls. If the girl be under the age of 13 (formerly 10 and afterwards 12) years, the offences is a felony punishable with penal servitude for life; if the girl be above the age of 13 (formerly 10 and afterwards 12) and under 16 (formerly 12 and afterwards 13), the offence is a misdemeanour punishable by imprisonment, with or without hard labour, to the extent of two years, (English) Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. C. 69), repealing the (English) Offences against the Person Act, 1875, repealing 24 & 25 Vict. C. 100, ss. 50, 51, which fixed lesser ages as above. The (English) Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5, c. 56), amends the Act of 1885, so that in the case of the second of the above-mentioned offences, it shall be a sufficient defence if it shall be made to appear to the Court or jury that the person charged had reasonable cause to believe that the girl was of, or above the age of 16, but only if he has not reached his twenty-fourth birthday and is being charged under the section for the first time (R. v. Chapman, 23 Cr App R 63); 'reasonable cause to believe' means that the accused had reasonable cause to and did, in fact, believe, R. v. Banks, (1916) 2 KB 621. An attempt to have carnal intercourse with a girl under 13 years is an offence punishable by a like imprisonment, by the Act of 1885. Consent of the girl is no defence, and the Act of 1885, by raising from 13 to 16 the age at which unresisted sexual intercourse is a crime, has made a very material amendment in the law. A prosecution under s. 5 of this Act in respect of a girl between 13 and 16 must be commenced within 9 months of the offence by virtue of s. 2 of the (English) Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1922. A girl aiding and abetting in her own defilement cannot be convicted of any offence, R. v. Tyrrel, (1894) 1 QB 710. The Act of 1885 has further provisions dealing with the causing and encouraging of prostitution of girls and allowing them to frequent brothels. See also CHILDREN.