Section 15A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 deals with people who communicate with a child who is under the age of 16.
It says that any person aged 18 or over commits an offence if that person communicates with another and that communication is for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification and it is an intentional communication.
The communication has to intend to encourage the other person to make a communication that is sexual and that person has to be under the age of 16.
However, there is an anomaly in the law of England and Wales.
Although one can have a sexual conversation with a person aged 16 and indeed have legal sexual relations with a person aged 16 or over, one cannot exchange illicit photographs of one another if that person is aged 16 or 17.
A person guilty of an offence under this section could potentially go to prison for a maximum term of two years.
There are aggravating features in relation to such communications.
The main one is that the “child” that one is communicating with is under 13.
Many of the people whom our clients are communicating with are undercover police officers or vigilantes, that is not a real person.
This leads to a prosecution for “an attempt” contrary to Section 1 of the Criminal Attempts Act.
However, the sentencing is based upon the legislation relating to the offence that one is attempting to commit.
Section 15 of the same Act of Parliament is “meeting a child following sexual grooming”.
Quite often, people who are in sexual communication with a child will suggest a meeting.
If one then meets with that person or goes to meet the person that one believes is a child then that is a much more severe offence.
There are other offences which are linked to such communications for example causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity contrary to Section 10, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child contrary to Section 11, causing a child to watch a sexual act contrary to Section 12 and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, contrary to Section 15.
There has been a recent spike in both vigilante and police “stings”.
More often that not people are facing an immediate custodial sentence as opposed to a suspended custodial sentences of other sentences such as a Community Order, fines and so on.
Contact Our Sexual Offences Defence Lawyers (London, Birmingham, Manchester)
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