Oireachtas to push through new law on statutory rape
The Dáil and the Seanad are due to rush through new legislation today aimed at closing the legal loophole surrounding underage sex.
The Sexual Offences Bill was produced last night in response to the Supreme Court's ruling last week that the existing law on statutory rape was unconstitutional.
The new legislation allows a defendant who has sex with an underage girl or boy to argue that he or she honestly believed the child was above a certain age.
The previous law was struck down specifically because this defence was not available to people accused of statutory rape.
The new provision will create a situation whereby the victim in such cases may have to take the stand to give evidence about their dress and behaviour and whether these could have led the accused to make a mistake about the victim's age.
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