Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017
Number 2 of 2017
CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2017
REVISED
Updated to 30 July 2021
This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.
All Acts up to and including the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 (32/2021), enacted 23 July 2021, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Parole Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 405 of 2021), made 29 July 2021, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.
Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to
revisedacts@lawreform.ie.
Number 2 of 2017
CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2017
REVISED
Updated to 30 July 2021
Introduction
This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.
Related legislation
This Act is not collectively cited with any other Act.
Annotations
This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.
An explanation of how to read annotations is available at
www.lawreform.ie/annotations.
Material not updated in this revision
Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.
Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.
A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at
www.irishstatutebook.ie.
Acts which affect or previously affected this revision
• Parole Act 2019 (28/2019)
• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2019 (4/2019)
• Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017 (28/2017)
All Acts up to and including Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 (32/2021), enacted 23 July 2021, were considered in the preparation of this revision.
Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision
• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 (Part 5) (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 434 of 2019)
• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 172 of 2018)
• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 45 of 2018)
• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 112 of 2017)
All statutory instruments up to and including Parole Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 405 of 2021), made 29 July 2021, were considered in the preparation of this revision.
Number 2 of 2017
CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2017
REVISED
Updated to 30 July 2021
CONTENTS
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title and commencement
Sexual Exploitation of Children
3. Obtaining, providing etc. a child for purpose of sexual exploitation
4. Invitation etc. to sexual touching
5. Sexual activity in presence of child
6. Causing child to watch sexual activity
7. Meeting child for purpose of sexual exploitation
8. Use of information and communication technology to facilitate sexual exploitation of child
9. Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1998
10. Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1998
11. Organising etc. child prostitution or production of child pornography
12. Producing, distributing, etc. child pornography
13. Participation of child in pornographic performance
14. Possession of child pornography
15. Amendment of section 1 of Act of 2006
16. Sexual act with child under 15 years of age
17. Sexual act with child under 17 years of age
18. Offence by person in authority
19. Amendment of section 8 of Act of 1990
Sexual Act with Protected Persons
21. Sexual act with protected person
22. Offence against relevant person by person in authority
Purchase of Sexual Services
26. Amendment of section 5 of Act of 2008
27. Report on operation of Act
Incest
29. Exclusion of public from hearings of proceedings under Act of 1908
30. Anonymity of person charged with offence under Act of 1908 and person to whom offence relates
31. Provisions in relation to offences under section 30
Criminal Evidence
33. Amendment of section 1 of Act of 1992
34. Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1992
35. Amendment of section 13 of Act of 1992
37. Amendment of section 16 of Act of 1992
38. Amendment of section 17 of Act of 1992 (Repealed)
39. Disclosure of third party records in certain trials
40. Amendment of section 28 of Civil Legal Aid Act 1995
Jurisdiction
41. Amendment of Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996
43. Proceedings relating to offences committed outside State
Miscellaneous
45. Exposure, offensive conduct of sexual nature
47. Effect of appeal from order
49. Amendment of section 249 of Children Act 2001
50. Amendment of Bail Act 1997
52. Amendment of Criminal Procedure Act 2010
54. Amendment of Taxi Regulation Act 2013
55. Amendment of Children First Act 2015
56. Amendment of Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016
57. Offences by bodies corporate
58. Commission of another offence specified in Schedule within specified period
SCHEDULE
Acts Referred to
Bail Act 1997 (No. 16)
Censorship of Films Acts 1923 to 1992
Censorship of Publications Acts 1929 to 1967
Child Care Act 1991 (No. 17)
Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 (No. 22)
Children Act 2001 (No. 24)
Children First Act 2015 (No. 36)
Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 (No. 32)
Companies Act 2014 (No. 38)
Criminal Evidence Act 1992 (No. 12)
Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 (No. 4)
Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 (No. 8)
Criminal Law (Incest Proceedings) Act 1995 (No. 12)
Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990 (No. 32)
Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 (No. 10)
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 (No. 20)
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 (No. 15)
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 69)
Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (No. 27)
Punishment of Incest Act 1908 (8 Edw., 7 c. 45)
Sex Offenders Act 2001 (No. 18)
Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 (No. 38)
Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (No. 37)
Video Recordings Acts 1989 and 1992
Number 2 of 2017
CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2017
REVISED
Updated to 30 July 2021
An Act to give effect to Directive No. 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 20111 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA, for that purpose to amend certain enactments; to amend the Punishment of Incest Act 1908; to amend the Criminal Evidence Act 1992; to repeal certain provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993; to repeal the Criminal Law (Incest Proceedings) Act 1995; to amend the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006; to provide for offences relating to sexual acts with protected persons and relating to payment for sexual activity with prostitutes, offensive conduct of a sexual nature and harassment of victims of sexual offences; and to provide for related matters.
[22nd February, 2017]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows: