Current guidelines, published in 2013, have been interpreted in cases where sexual activity was incited but did not actually occur to mean that harm should be considered low or the absence of actual harm to a child should be considered a mitigating factor.
Under the revised guidelines, which come into effect on 31 May, however, judges and magistrates will look at the intended sexual harm, regardless of whether the activity takes place, for example, in a police ‘sting’ operation. The maximum penalties are life imprisonment for arranging or facilitating if the rape of a child under 12 years old is planned, and 14 years’ imprisonment for causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The Court of Appeal requested the revisions following Privett & Ors [2020] EWCA Crim 557, in which an offence was arranged and facilitated but there was no child, and Reed & Ors [2021] EWCA Crim 572, in which sexual activity was incited but did not take place.
Sentencing Council member, Judge Rosa Dean, said: ‘Judges and magistrates will impose sentences that reflect the intended harm to the child, even where that activity does not ultimately take place, to protect children from people planning to cause them sexual harm.’
Under the new guideline for the offence of sexual communication with a child, offenders face a maximum penalty of two years in prison for sharing images, causing psychological harm, abuse of trust or the use of threats or bribes. This takes effect on 1 July 2022.
The Council also clarified that offences against victims overseas should be treated as seriously as offending against victims in England and Wales.
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