Clause 50 - Causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Mr Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 238, in
clause 50, page 26, line 43, leave out subparagraph (ii).
This is a simple query, which goes back to something that I raised earlier. The Government have unfolded a panoply of offences in the Bill, and I make no criticism of that. However, there is a great deal of duplication.
In the case of a child under the age of 13, causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography will be punishable by 14 years imprisonment. However, in terms of prostitution, the offence is identical to causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity under clause 9, the maximum penalty for which is life imprisonment—I am assuming that both would involve penetrative sexual contact, and prostitution normally would. I accept that pornography might be slightly different, but that still involves sexual activity so it would still be punishable by 14 years imprisonment even if it involved only sexual touching.
Prosecutors will be faced with an array of options and, although I accept that in some cases options can be useful, I wonder whether the range that we are providing sends out mixed messages. On the face of it, encouraging a child under 13 to engage in prostitution is causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, which is apparently a more serious offence. Will there be guidelines on how prosecutors should approach that? In this part of the Bill, there is a tendency to provide for those under 13 an offence where an offence already exists because of the absolute prohibition on sexual activity earlier in the Bill. I should be grateful if the Minister would explain her reasons.