CURRENT MATTERS
Sexual Assaults
If a person indecently assaults another person, or procures a person, without consent, to commit an act of gross indecency, or witness an act of gross indecency, then the person commits a sexual assault. The maximum penalty for such an offence is ten (10) years imprisonment unless there are aggravating circumstances, in which case the maximum period of imprisonment is longer. Some aggravating circumstances are :
- being armed with a dangerous or offensive weapon (for example a gun, knife, or broken bottle) before, during, or immediately after the sexual assault;
- committing the sexual assault in company with other people- penetrating the vagina or anus of the victim with an object, or a part of the offender’s body other than the penis- oral sex.
It is also an offence to assault someone with intent to commit rape. The maximum period of imprisonment for this offence is fourteen (14) years imprisonment.