Page:Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 2007.pdf/36

70 No. 30599

Act No. 32, 2007 (2) (a) A person who has knowledge, reasonable belief or suspicion that a sexual offence has been committed against a person who is mentally disabled must report such knowledge, reasonable belief or suspicion immediately to a police official.

(b) A person who fails to report such knowledge, reasonable belief or suspicion as contemplated in paragraph (a), is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both a fine and such imprisonment.

(c) A person who in good faith reports such reasonable belief or suspicion shall not be liable to any civil or criminal proceedings by reason of making such report.

Attempt, conspiracy, incitement or inducing another person to commit sexual offence

55. Any person who—

attempts;

conspires with any other person; or

aids, abets, induces, incites, instigates, instructs, commands, counsels or procures another person,

to commit a sexual offence in terms of this Act, is guilty of an offence and may be liable on conviction to the punishment to which a person convicted of actually committing that offence would be liable.

Defences and sentencing

56. (1) Whenever an accused person is charged with an offence under section 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 it is not a valid defence for that accused person to contend that a marital or other relationship exists or existed between him or her and the complainant.

(2) Whenever an accused person is charged with an offence under—

section 15 or 16, it is, subject to subsection (3), a valid defence to such a charge to contend that the child deceived the accused person into believing that he or she was 16 years or older at the time of the alleged commission of the offence and the accused person reasonably believed that the child was 16 years or older; or

section 16, it is a valid defence to such a charge to contend that both the accused persons were children and the age difference between them was not more than two years at the time of the alleged commission of the offence.

(3) The provisions of subsection (2)(a) do not apply if the accused person is related to the child within the prohibited incest degrees of blood, affinity or an adoptive relationship.

(4) A person (“A”) may not be convicted of an offence in terms of section 12 if, at the time when the act of sexual penetration was first committed—

A was below the age of 18 years; and

the other person (“B”) exercised power or authority over A or a relationship of trust existed between A and B.

(5) A person may not be convicted of an offence in terms of section 17(4) or (5) or section 23(4) or (5) or section 54, if that person is—

a child; and

not a person contemplated in section 17(1) and (2) or 23(1) and (2), as the case may be.

(6) It is not a valid defense to a charge under section 20(1), in respect of a visual representation that—

the accused person believed that a person shown in the representation that is alleged to constitute child pornography, was or was depicted as being 18 years or older unless the accused took all reasonable steps to ascertain the age of that person; and