Rape of a Child Under 13 (Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 2003)

Rape of a Child Under 13 is an offence under s.5 Sexual Offences Act 2003. A person commits the offence if he intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis, and the other person is under 13 (s.5(1)). The section contains no element of consent or of belief in consent. Maximum sentence: on conviction on indictment, imprisonment for life (s.5(2)). The section gives no summary penalty, so the offence is triable only on indictment.

In practice

This is an indictable-only offence: it must be tried at the Crown Court. The charging decision rests with the CPS (not police). All suspects must be interviewed by officers trained in sexual offence investigation. Disclosure must be handled in accordance with the Attorney General's Guidelines. Consider a Sexual Harm Prevention Order application. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).