A jury had been given adequate directions in relation to the issue of consent before it found a defendant guilty of rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault following a sexual encounter at a party between the defendant and a woman who was heavily intoxicated. The judge had fully dealt with the elements of capacity and it had not been necessary for him to indicate that a drunken consent remained a consent.
CONSENT CORRECT JURY DIRECTION IN RELATION TO CAPACITY TO CONSENT BY INTOXICATED COMPLAINANT CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE INTOXICATION JURY DIRECTIONS RAPE SUMMING UP
It had not been logically inconsistent for a jury to find a man accused of sexual activity with a child guilty of having intercourse with her but not guilty of digitally penetrating her as they were separate incidents and the surrounding circumstances of the latter might have led the jury to be not sure beyond a reasonable doubt.
ALTERNATIVE VERDICTS CONSENT CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DEFENDANT GUILTY OF INTERCOURSE WITH CHILD INCONSISTENT VERDICTS INDICTMENTS NO INCONSISTENCY NOT GUILTY OF DIGITAL PENETRATION RAPE SEPARATE INCIDENTS SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH CHILDREN
The acquittal of one of three men charged with multiple rapes of a woman over an evening had been explicable on the basis that he had joined the other two after the victim had ceased to show resistance. The judge had properly left the issue of reasonable belief in consent to the jury and had properly given a separate treatment direction.
CONSENT CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1988 s.23 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE FRESH EVIDENCE INCONSISTENT VERDICTS LEAVING ISSUE OF REASONABLENESS OF BELIEF IN CONSENT TO JURY MULTIPLE RAPES OF ONE WOMAN BY THREE MEN OVER AN EVENING RAPE REASONABLE BELIEF WHETHER ACQUITTAL OF CO-DEFENDANT EXPLICABLE ON FACTS
The defendant’s convictions for raping his partner were safe where there was expert evidence that his mental illness had not affected his ability to understand whether his partner had consented. Even if that were wrong, delusional beliefs that a victim was consenting could not render reasonable a belief that the victim was consenting when they were not.
ASSAULT CONSENT CRIMINAL DAMAGE CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DELUSIONAL BELIEF IN CONSENT EFFECT OF DEFENDANT’S MENTAL ILLNESS JURY DIRECTIONS MENTAL DISORDER RAPE REASONABLE BELIEF REASONABLENESS OF BELIEF IN CONSENT TO SEXUAL INTERCOURSE s.1 SCHIZOPHRENIA SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 2003 s.1(1)
A jury had not acted inconsistently in finding two young offenders guilty of oral rape but not guilty of sexual assault, even though the charges represented a sequence of events over the course of a 30-minute period and the central issue was consent. On the evidence, there was no logical inconsistency in the verdicts.
ACQUITTAL ON OTHER CHARGES OF ORAL RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT ARISING OUT OF 30-MINUTE INCIDENT CONSENT CONVICTION ON ONE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE INCONSISTENT VERDICTS NORTHERN IRELAND RAPE SENTENCING STARTING POINT WHETHER VERDICTS LOGICALLY INCONSISTENT YOUNG OFFENDERS
Where a defendant had taken indecent photographs of a 17-year-old girl following intercourse on a “one night stand”, the judge had been correct to reject an argument that the situation came within the terms of the defence set out in the Protection of Children Act 1978 s.1A.
AGE art.10 art.6 CONSENT CRIMINAL LAW DEFENCES EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS 1950 art.8 HUMAN RIGHTS INCIDENT OCCURRING ON “ONE NIGHT STAND” INDECENT PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHILDREN PROTECTION OF CHILDREN ACT 1978 s.1(1)(a) RIGHT TO RESPECT FOR PRIVATE AND FAMILY LIFE s.1 s.1(1) s.1(1)(b) s.13 s.1A s.1A(1) s.1A(4) s.76 WHETHER SITUATION CAME WITHIN S.1A PROTECTION OF CHILDREN ACT 1978
It could not be emphasised too much that where a woman was too ill or too unfit, for whatever reason, to consent to sexual activity she had to be left alone, and the exploitation of her vulnerability would be an aggravating rather than a mitigating feature.
APPROPRIATE SENTENCE ASSAULT BY PENETRATION COMPLAINANT ASLEEP CONSENT CUSTODIAL SENTENCES INTOXICATED AND NOT CONSENTING INTOXICATION OFFENDER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF COMPLAINANT’S VULNERABILITY SENTENCE LENGTH SENTENCING SEXUAL OFFENCES
Appeals against convictions for numerous and various sexual offences were dismissed where the judge had correctly admitted evidence of the making of complaints under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 s.120(2) and evidence as to bad character, and had not misled the jury in his directions.
ADMISSIBILITY ADMISSION OF EVIDENCE UNDER S.120(2) CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003 BAD CHARACTER CONSENT CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003 s.120(2) DIRECTIONS JURY DIRECTIONS PROPENSITY RAPE RECENT COMPLAINT s.101(1)(a) s.103(1)(a) s.112 s.114 s.114(1)(d) s.116(2)(b) s.120 s.120(7) s.120(7)(d) SENTENCE LENGTH SENTENCING SEXUAL OFFENCES SUMMING UP
In circumstances where an offender had deceived a complainant and pressured her into having sexual intercourse more frequently than she would have done otherwise, the conclusive presumption under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.76 had no application as the complainant had not been deceived as to the nature or purpose of sexual intercourse.
CONSENT CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND COURT SERVICES ACT 2000 s.28 CRIMINAL LAW DECEPTION IRREBUTTABLE PRESUMPTIONS NATURE OF DECEIT CAUSING COMPLAINANT TO HAVE SEXUAL INTERCOURSE PRESUMPTIONS PROCURING INTERCOURSE RAPE s.3 s.74 s.75 s.76 s.76(2)(a) s.77 SENTENCING SEXUAL OFFENCES SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 1956 s.3(1) SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 2003 s.1(1)
If, through drink, or for any other reason, a complainant had temporarily lost her capacity to choose whether to have sexual intercourse, she was not consenting, and subject to the defendant’s state of mind, if intercourse took place, that would be rape. However, where a complainant had voluntarily consumed substantial quantities of alcohol, but nevertheless remained capable of choosing whether to have intercourse, and agreed to do so, that would not be rape.
CAPACITY TO CONSENT TO SEXUAL INTERCOURSE COMPLAINANT’S VOLUNTARY EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION CONSENT CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE JURY DIRECTIONS RAPE s.1 s.75 s.75(2)(d) s.75(2)(f) s.76 SEXUAL OFFENCES SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 2003 s.74 VOLUNTARY INTOXICATION
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