Section 9: Sexual activity with a child

Sexual Offences Act 2003 · 2003 c. 42View on legislation.gov.uk

Part 1: Sexual Offences

A person aged 18 or over (A) commits an offence if—

he intentionally touches another person (B),
the touching is sexual, and
either—
B is under 16 and A does not reasonably believe that B is 16 or over, or
B is under 13.

A person guilty of an offence under this section, if the touching involved—

penetration of B's anus or vagina with a part of A's body or anything else,
penetration of B's mouth with A's penis,
penetration of A's anus or vagina with a part of B's body, or
penetration of A's mouth with B's penis,

is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.

Unless subsection (2) applies, a person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.

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This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.