Sex Offences

Rape is defined under Section 39 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) as the use of any force, violence, threats, or extortion to cause:

• A person to penetrate another (victim), or
• Self penetration on another
• The party to do self penetration
• The victim to sexually penetrate an animal or be penetrated by the animal
• For this case, it is necessary to establish that the sexually abused victim (another party) did not give consent to the act, or the accused was reckless about the matter of consent.

• Depending on the severity of the assault, a guilty offender may face a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
• Sexual assault cases can be ambiguous in court due to the wide range of acts that may qualify as assault.
• If the other person did not consent to the specific act, even if they had previously provided consent, the accused is still considered guilty.
• The culpable party, not the "compelled" one, is the one who forces the conduct.
• In this case, it is irrelevant whether the offender compelled the victim to touch themselves or another person sexually. The offence still carries the same 10-year maximum imprisonment penalty.

• It is an offence to compel a person to engage in a sexual act through the use of threats or instilling fear. In this case, a threat can be emotional, physical, psychological, or any other means that reasonably causes the victim to feel afraid.
• The offence of procuring a sexual act through threats carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment under Section 44 of the Crimes Act.

• It is an offence for a person to tamper with or impair another's cognitive abilities for sexual purposes. Section 46 prohibits all actions where the person administers an intoxicating substance or causes another person to administer it for a sexual purpose.
• According to Section 46 of the Act, it is a crime punishable by up to ten years in jail. Additionally, a drunk person's consent is neither acceptable or legitimate in court.

• When the victims of sexual abuse are children, the offences are considered to have aggravating circumstances. Children cannot legally consent to any sexual act. Therefore, it is irrelevant in court if the defendant (the adult) claims the child consented to the sexual act.
  • If an adult commits a sexual offence of penetrating a child with their genitals,
  • Sexually penetrate a child,
  • Causes a child to penetrate themselves sexually,
  • Causes them to penetrate another person sexually,
  • Other similar acts of equal severity,
• The Court can issue up to 25 years imprisonment.
• If a child aged 16 or 17 consents, an offence may still be committed if the child is in the care, supervision or authority of the accused.