New Laws on Under-age Sex in Ireland
The Associated Press reports from Dublin on June 3, 2006 that Ireland has passed an emergency bill on under-age sex, and the Supreme Court ordered a man at the center of the controversy to be reimprisoned for having sex with a 12-year-old girl.
According to the report, these developments were the result of public outrage over a decision last week by the Ireland Supreme Court that declared a 1935 law governing statutory rape of minors unconstitutional on the grounds that the law did not provide men with a defense permitting men accused of having sex with girls aged under 15 to claim they thought the girl was older.
According to the AP, a lower court ordered that a 41-year-old man who had been convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old be released. Three other men convicted of having sex with under-age girls filed similar suits Thursday and Friday seeking to have their convictions quashed, and more than a dozen others were expected to do so in coming days.
According to the AP, in the face of huge negative public opinion, the government appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court, and a five-judge panel Friday night ordered the man to be reimprisoned. Within three hours, police announced his arrest.
It is reported that President Mary McAleese signed into law a new sexual offenses bill that replaced the 1935 law with a new legal formula for protecting teenage girls from older men within two hours.
The new law creates a criminal offense for those convicted of "engaging or attempting to engage in a sexual act with a child who is under 15 years of age." But it will allow accused men to testify they thought their sexual partner was older _ and Justice Minister Michael McDowell warned that this would lead to lawyers' rough cross-examination of the young girls.
The age of consent for both boys and girls was set at 17 for all offenses, simplifying earlier laws that specified different ages for different crimes and sexes.
The new law provides one controversial exception to the age of consent - that it is not a crime for a girl under age 17 to have sex. The government defends this on the grounds they don't want teenage mothers to be treated as criminals.
Cases involving child sexual abuse issues have long been of special interest to Jeanne Hannah. To contact Jeanne Hannah with your questions or to view her Family Law website, click here.
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Content:
1.Relationships
2.Problems during a marriage
3.Issues related to children
4.Termination of relationships
5.Scope of the court
Posted by: family law | June 25, 2006 at 07:26 PM