Page:Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act Amendment Act 2015.pdf/3

4 No. 38977

Act No. 5 of 2015 ARLIAMENT of the Republic of South Africa therefore enacts as follows:—

Amendment of section 1 of Act 32 of 2007

1. Section 1 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 (Act No. 32 of 2007) (hereinafter referred to as the “principal Act”), is hereby amended by the substitution for the deﬁnition of “child” of the following deﬁnition: “ ‘child’ means[—]

a person under the age of 18 years[; or with reference to sections 15 and 16, a person 12 years or older but under the age of 16 years,]

and ‘children’ has a corresponding meaning.”.

Substitution of section 15 of Act 32 of 2007 2. The following section is hereby substituted for section 15 of the principal Act: “Acts of consensual sexual penetration with certain children (statutory rape)

15. (1) A person (‘A’) who commits an act of sexual penetration with a child (‘B’) who is 12 years of age or older but under the age of 16 years is, despite the consent of B to the commission of such an act, guilty of the offence of having committed an act of consensual sexual penetration with a child, unless A, at the time of the alleged commission of such an act, was—

12 years of age or older but under the age of 16 years; or either 16 or 17 years of age and the age difference between A and B was not more than two years.

(2) (a) The institution of a prosecution for an offence referred to in subsection (1) must be authorised in writing by the [National] Director of Public Prosecutions if [both] A [and B were children] was either 16 or 17 years of age at the time of the alleged commission of the offence and the age difference between A and B was more than two years [: Provided that, in the event that the National Director of Public Prosecutions authorises the institution of a prosecution, both A and B must be charged with contravening subsection (1)].

(b) The [National] Director of Public Prosecutions concerned may [not] delegate his or her power to decide whether a prosecution in terms of this section should be instituted or not.”.

Substitution of section 16 of Act 32 of 2007

3. The following section is hereby substituted for section 16 of the principal Act: “Acts of consensual sexual violation with certain children (statutory sexual assault)

16. (1) A person (‘A’) who commits an act of sexual violation with a child (‘B’) who is 12 years of age or older but under the age of 16 years is, despite the consent of B to the commission of such an act, guilty of the offence of having committed an act of consensual sexual violation with a child, unless A, at the time of the alleged commission of such an act, was—

12 years of age or older but under the age of 16 years; or either 16 or 17 years of age and the age difference between A and B was not more than two years.

(2) (a) The institution of a prosecution for an offence referred to in subsection (1) must be authorised in writing by the relevant Director of Public Prosecutions if [both] A [and B were children] was either 16 or 17 years of age at the time of the alleged commission of the offence and the