Clause 17 - Meeting a child following sexual grooming etc.
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Ms Sandra Gidley (Romsey, Liberal Democrat)
I approach the subject with an open mind. While listening to the debate, it struck me that we are approaching a wide range of intentions, and in such cases, there will potentially be a wide range of circumstantial evidence to back up the police. In the most severe cases, I am fairly convinced that other provisions of the Bill would be contravened and that that would lead to a greater sentence. We have to take account of the greater as well as the lesser offences. The hon. Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford) quoted one such example. Seven years is probably a reasonable sentence for the vast majority of offences under the clause but I am tempted to consider increasing the maximum to 14 years—or to come to a compromise of 10 years—to give judges more discretion.
The clause would be an ideal candidate for the Sentencing Guidelines Council; will the Under-Secretary consider the matter and come up with relevant guidelines?