Seven serving time for 'abolished' crime
There are at least seven men in prison who were convicted of statutory rape under a law abolished yesterday by the Supreme Court, it emerged tonight.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today allayed opposition fears that sex offenders could now successfully appeal their convictions and remove themselves from the sex offenders’ register.
Department of Justice sources said tonight that new legislation to replace the defunct 71-year-old law would be introduced within two weeks.
Supreme Court judges yesterday declared that the 1935 law that made it an automatic crime to have sex with a girl under the age of 15 was unconstitutional.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “An initial trawl of our records shows that there are seven prisoners in custody on the basis of a conviction under Section 1:1 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1935.
“So far, there is an indeterminate number of others in custody.”
The legislation was challenged by a young man who had consensual sex with a 14-year-old girl who told him she was 16. He was 18 at the time.
He was facing four charges of statutory rape under the 1935 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act when he brought the challenge to the act.
His lawyers argued that it was unconstitutional because it was not open to him to claim he honestly believed she was older or that he had made an honest mistake.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny claimed in the Dáil earlier that up to 54 offenders were convicted under the law in recent years.
But Mr Ahern replied: “There can be no blanket cover for cases, such as those of people in jail or on the sex offenders’ register.
"It is not the case that people can walk free, but the Department of Justice and Attorney General will obviously be examining the judgment in this case, so it is important that we move quickly.”
A spokesperson for the Minister for Justice tonight pointed out that any sexual activity involving someone under 15 years of age, regardless of whether or not they consented, remains a very serious offense with a sentence of up to 14 years' imprisonment for sexual assault.
“In addition, any sexual intercourse with a minor against their will carries a potential life sentence for rape,” she said.
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