Clause 26 - Sections 18 to 21: sexual relationships which pre-date position of trust
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
3:45 pm
Ms Sandra Gidley (Romsey, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 188, in
clause 26, page 13, line 29, at end insert
'and that the relationship commenced before the defendant was aware that he would be in a position of trust.'.
I tabled the amendment to clarify what would happen in certain situations. It occurred to me that someone who was keen to have a relationship with a person could quite easily make sure that they were in employment that would facilitate meeting that individual and prolonging a relationship. The first part of the relationship may have been conducted under some sort of duress. I fully admit that that is a slightly obtuse point.
What protections are in place to ensure that the defendant who is accused of abusing the position of trust; or rather how easy will it be to make the defence that he did not know that the position of trust would—I apologise, I am tying myself in knots. I knew
precisely what I meant when I drafted the amendment. [Laughter.] It has been a long haul since then. The point is that we do not want people manoeuvring themselves into positions proactively. We are learning that people are very cunning. I drafted the amendment after the briefing from the paedophile unit, when I assumed that everyone was out to do terrible things, and that everything in the world was a conspiracy, and it occurred to me that the clause might have a loophole.