Student's Conviction In Teen Sex Case Overturned

The Court of Final Appeal has overturned the indecent assault conviction of a man who bought sex services in 2014 from a 13-year-old girl who claimed to be 17.

The man, who was 22 and a university student at the time, was originally acquitted by a magistrate in 2015 who heard evidence from the girl and ruled that she really looked more mature than her actual age, and that she had admitted she would try to dress to look older when meeting clients. The magistrate noted that the girl had given consent to perform sexual acts.

But the prosecution appealed, and in 2017 the High Court decided the man should be found guilty. The judge said it is because anybody aged under 16 is unable to give consent in a legal sense. The court said, therefore, the man bore absolute liability for the offence.

He took the case to the top court which ruled on Wednesday in his favour.

The five-judge panel said that while there is a need to provide girls and boys aged below 16 a “high degree of protection against sexual exploitation”, in this case, it was more probable than not that accused “honestly and reasonably” believed the girl was over the legal age limit.