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Rape of a child under 13

Sexual offences — practical elements, sentencing links and station notes for accredited reps in England & Wales.

Sexual offences

Rape of a child under 13

Sexual Offences Act 2003, s.5

England & Wales. Elements, mode of trial, maximum and defences — not a charging or outcome predictor.

Triable
Indictable only
Maximum penalty
Life imprisonment

Actus reus

  • Intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis, and the other person is under 13 (SOA 2003, s.5(1)).

Mens rea

  • Intention as to the penetration. No consent element. No reasonable-belief-in-age defence.

Defences

Deny penetration / identification · Complainant was not under 13

Sentencing Council

Sentencing Council guideline effective 1 April 2014. Offence range: 6 – 19 years’ custody.

View definitive guideline ↗

At the police station

Indictable; life. Consent and belief in age are not defences. We want a solicitor on the call.

When to involve a rep or solicitor

Police station advice is free under legal aid and is not means-tested. For this allegation we would normally want a solicitor involved early.

Authoritative sources for this page

Statute plus Sentencing Council (and CPS where listed) are the two primary sources we used for mode of trial, maximum and elements. Case links are from our verified registry only.

More in Sexual offences

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Sources & further reading

Links are to official publishers (legislation, gov.uk, CPS, LAA, Sentencing Council). Case law on this site is limited to entries in our verified case-law registry. Always confirm the current version before relying on it in live advice.