Sexual Penetration of a 16 or 17 Year Old Child

What is Sexual Penetration of a 16 or 17 Year Old Child?

Sexual penetration of a 16 or 17 year old child in Australia is an offence under section 49G of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), committed when an adult intentionally sexually penetrates a child aged 16 or 17 who is in their care, supervision, or authority.

That relationship is the defining element. Consent is not a defence because the criminal law treats the power imbalance as displacing any question of consensual sex. Consent is defined as free agreement and cannot be obtained through coercion or intimidation.

Positions commonly caught include a teacher, sports coach, foster parent, step parent, employer or youth worker. The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment.

Police interview

The police investigation stage is often the most important point of a case. Anything you tell the police can harm your defence in the future. The aim of the police interview is to try to get admissions from you to lock you into a plea of guilty. The police interview is not where you explain your side of the story and hope that the matter will go away. You need to receive advice on how to deal with the police.

Elements of Sexual Penetration of a 16 or 17 Year Old Child

• The accused took part in an act of sexual penetration with the complainant
• The accused intended to take part in that act
• The complainant was 16 or 17 years old at the time
• The accused was not married to the complainant
• The complainant was under the accused’s care, supervision or authority

This provision was repealed on 1 July 2017 and can only be charged for conduct occurring before that date. It was replaced by section 49C of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) – Sexual penetration of a child aged 16 or 17 under care, supervision or authority.

Why You Should Get Legal Advice Before Speaking to Police

Your interview is recorded and can be played to a jury. You have the right to silence, and exercising it cannot be used against you at trial. Answers given without advice, especially about dates, the child’s age, or how the relationship began, are very difficult to correct later. Only the person charged can give up that right, so speak to a criminal law specialist before attending the station.

Defences

Two obvious defences arise in this charge. Firstly, that you genuinely believed on reasonable grounds that they were 18 or over. Secondly, that the person was not in your care, supervision, or authority. Often there is a factual dispute as to when exactly something happened with these sorts of charges.

Pleading not guilty to a Sexual Penetration charge

If you are accused of sexual penetration of a 16 or 17 year old child, you should call us to discuss a strategy with one of our experienced lawyers. We are criminal defence lawyers who specialise in sex matters and are experienced in running sex matters in court and before juries. We will work hard on your case and make sure that you have the best possible chance of winning your case. There is much work that needs to be done. 

This includes pushing the police to get full disclosure of their evidence, using our own investigators, and getting our own witnesses. This case is important to you and that is how we will treat it. We pride ourselves on our preparation of matters for court. It is obvious that being accused of a sexual offence can be stressful. Being accused of sexual penetration of a 16 or 17 year old child or other child sex offence can be devastating. It can negatively impact your reputation, your employment, your ability to parent your children, and your ability to travel. sexual penetration of a 16 or 17 year old child is made worse if the police say that you were in a position of power over the complainant, such as that you were a school teacher or guardian.

Pleading guilty to Sexual Penetration of a Child

If you are pleading guilty, we can advise you on how to prepare your plea to get the best possible outcome. A good plea will rely on the following:

1. Gathering mitigating material,
2. Getting reports, and
3. Taking the time to get to know you so your story can be properly explained to the Judge.

We have achieved great outcomes for people who have pleaded guilty to Sexual Penetration of a 16 or 17 Year Old Child. A finding of guilt for Sexual Penetration of a 16 or 17 Year Old Child will almost always lead to an immediate prison sentence and being placed on the Sex Offender Register for a long period of time.