Clause 10 - Sexual activity with a child
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
3:15 pm
Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking, Conservative)
I shall speak to amendment No. 139. I will take some persuading that the amendment is not acceptable. The more I think about it, the more compelling I find it. Under clause 10, the position on punishment is as follows: the offence, which may vary in severity from a minor offence to a very serious one, is triable only on indictment. That is significant. To draw a parallel from the magistrates courts, there are many offences that are triable only summarily. They are minor offences, such as careless driving. Other offences are triable only on indictment, because of their extreme severity. They can be tried only by a Crown court, not a magistrates court. Such offences include murder. Other offences, such as theft, are triable either way. A low-level theft can be tried in a magistrates court, which has the power to give a statutory fine or six months' imprisonment. If the theft is severe, it may be tried in the Crown court.
For the life of me, I can see no reason why the offence of sexual activity with a child should be regarded in every single case as so serious that it can be tried only in a Crown court. There must—I repeat, must—be examples in which the sentencing powers of the magistrates would be sufficient. Perhaps that would be so in most cases, or perhaps in some, but there must be some cases. Surely it cannot be right that every single allegation under this clause would be deemed suitable to be tried before a jury. Remember that the position in a magistrates court, after the person is arraigned, is as follows: if the Crown thinks that the either-way case, such as a case of theft, which can be tried in either court, is so serious that it can be tried only in the Crown court, it will say so and the magistrates will commit it for trial. There is no danger of terribly serious cases remaining in the magistrates court.
Surely we should retain the option—perhaps it would be used often, or perhaps occasionally—of trying such cases in a magistrates court. Why is the offence triable only on indictment, as opposed to summarily as well? Have I missed anything? If I am right, surely my amendment covers both situations.