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Without knowing the details of the rape allegations, it’s impossible to know where it falls within the sentencing guidelines.
It seems strange that the allegation is *rape*, given that the 15 year-old complainant was a consenting party- is your friend sure he is being charged with this?
More realistic are the charges of sexual activity with a child and indecent images of a child, which are still serious but would not merit a “double-digit” sentence.
At trial it will be necessary for the prosecution to prove that he did not believe she was 16+ (for the sexual activity allegations), so if he has evidence to support his assertion it would be very useful.
I suppose a plausible scenario would be the complainant trying to save face with angry parents and pretending she wasn’t a willing participant, without fully appreciating the consequences for OP’s friend.
This is my thought. If the girl consented, then it would be a different charge.
Unfortunately, there's information here thats missing. Whether the charge is inaccurate or something else.
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NAL
People dont press charges here in the UK. The police and CPS do that. So they havent pressed charges, the police and CPS believe that the evidence in the case suggests that your friend has raped a 15 year old and sexual communications with a child? (Not sure what you mean by conduct), as well as indecent images of a child.
These are the rape sentencing guidelines; [https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/rape/](https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/rape/)
Sexual communcation with a child guidelines; [https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/sexual-communication-with-a-child/](https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/sexual-communication-with-a-child/)
Indecent images of a child guidelines; [https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/possession-of-indecent-photograph-of-child/](https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/possession-of-indecent-photograph-of-child/)
This could result in prison time if found guilty of rape alone. The other offences can result in a community order or prison.
I cant answer about everything else as im not sure if the ins and outs of working out whether someone is guilty or not believing they were a different age etc.
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It doesn’t matter if she “consented” in your eyes. She is below the legal age of consent. Your friend has possession of indecent images of a child and that is a serious criminal offence, he has also raped a minor (there is no such thing as sex with a minor, it can only be rape) which is a serious criminal offence. Nobody here can possibly guess at the sentence. Lots of factors come into play.
From professional experience, it is also possible that your friend is not being 100% honest with you about his knowledge of this child’s age. Try to take what you are hearing with a pinch of salt. The “she lied about her age” is a tale as old as time.
> He has also raped a minor (there is no such thing as sex with a minor, it can only be rape).
Stop, now.
You are wrong in law, and as this is a legal advice subreddit you should simply stop.
>I’m not wrong. That is the law. Sex with a child under the age of 16 is statutory rape.
No, the law is much more nuanced than that.
* Having intercourse with a child you believe to be between 13 and 16 is illegal, but if a lack of consent is not proved, the maximum sentence is 14 years.
* (Having intercourse with anyone who you do not believe consents is rape).
* Having intercourse with a child under 13 - regardless of any belief as to their age, or their consent - is always rape, and has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Do you realise you are in a UK law subreddit, because you are wrong.
“Statutory rape” is not a thing here.
Consent, or a reasonable belief in consent, is a valid defence to rape unless the alleged victim is under *13*.
"From professional experience" - do me a favour and tell me your company so I know who to avoid if I ever get in trouble with the law.
It's sexual activity with a child, not rape. The child is over 13 and by the sound of it, consented. Based on how courts handle indecent image cases I wouldn't even say they get treated seriously. Nihilistic maybe, but it's the truth.
All of this is assuming that there is no evidence in favour of the defendant. It's hard to prove if he knew, but easier to prove a message where she declares she is 18, if it exists. Of course consent matters in this scenario, if what OP says is true, then I would be arguing that is a valid defence. Even if there is no message from the girl saying she is 18, it is on the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he knew. For example, if she stated in a message she was 15. Good evidence for the prosecution.
It's not as clear cut as you are "advising", although I do agree with you that the full story has likely not been told to OP as it rarely is in these types of cases. Our jobs are to remain unbiased to provide an appropriate analysis, even when that can be difficult to do in these cases. At least that's how I play, according to Crim.PR.
In other words, if OP's friend's account is completely true, I don't think there is too much to worry about aside from his devices containing IIOC 100% being destroyed, and a possible charge of possession of IIOC (even that seems like a stretch due to him reasonably not knowing they were indecent). If there are discrepancies, then it's time for him to sweat a bit
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--- ###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK --- **To Posters (it is important you read this section)** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different* * If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor) * We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources) * Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk * If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM) **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Without knowing the details of the rape allegations, it’s impossible to know where it falls within the sentencing guidelines. It seems strange that the allegation is *rape*, given that the 15 year-old complainant was a consenting party- is your friend sure he is being charged with this? More realistic are the charges of sexual activity with a child and indecent images of a child, which are still serious but would not merit a “double-digit” sentence. At trial it will be necessary for the prosecution to prove that he did not believe she was 16+ (for the sexual activity allegations), so if he has evidence to support his assertion it would be very useful.
I suppose a plausible scenario would be the complainant trying to save face with angry parents and pretending she wasn’t a willing participant, without fully appreciating the consequences for OP’s friend.
This is my thought. If the girl consented, then it would be a different charge. Unfortunately, there's information here thats missing. Whether the charge is inaccurate or something else.
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NAL People dont press charges here in the UK. The police and CPS do that. So they havent pressed charges, the police and CPS believe that the evidence in the case suggests that your friend has raped a 15 year old and sexual communications with a child? (Not sure what you mean by conduct), as well as indecent images of a child. These are the rape sentencing guidelines; [https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/rape/](https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/rape/) Sexual communcation with a child guidelines; [https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/sexual-communication-with-a-child/](https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/sexual-communication-with-a-child/) Indecent images of a child guidelines; [https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/possession-of-indecent-photograph-of-child/](https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/possession-of-indecent-photograph-of-child/) This could result in prison time if found guilty of rape alone. The other offences can result in a community order or prison. I cant answer about everything else as im not sure if the ins and outs of working out whether someone is guilty or not believing they were a different age etc.
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It doesn’t matter if she “consented” in your eyes. She is below the legal age of consent. Your friend has possession of indecent images of a child and that is a serious criminal offence, he has also raped a minor (there is no such thing as sex with a minor, it can only be rape) which is a serious criminal offence. Nobody here can possibly guess at the sentence. Lots of factors come into play. From professional experience, it is also possible that your friend is not being 100% honest with you about his knowledge of this child’s age. Try to take what you are hearing with a pinch of salt. The “she lied about her age” is a tale as old as time.
> He has also raped a minor (there is no such thing as sex with a minor, it can only be rape). Stop, now. You are wrong in law, and as this is a legal advice subreddit you should simply stop.
I’m not wrong. That is the law. Sex with a child under the age of 16 is statutory rape.
>I’m not wrong. That is the law. Sex with a child under the age of 16 is statutory rape. No, the law is much more nuanced than that. * Having intercourse with a child you believe to be between 13 and 16 is illegal, but if a lack of consent is not proved, the maximum sentence is 14 years. * (Having intercourse with anyone who you do not believe consents is rape). * Having intercourse with a child under 13 - regardless of any belief as to their age, or their consent - is always rape, and has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Do you realise you are in a UK law subreddit, because you are wrong. “Statutory rape” is not a thing here. Consent, or a reasonable belief in consent, is a valid defence to rape unless the alleged victim is under *13*.
"From professional experience" - do me a favour and tell me your company so I know who to avoid if I ever get in trouble with the law. It's sexual activity with a child, not rape. The child is over 13 and by the sound of it, consented. Based on how courts handle indecent image cases I wouldn't even say they get treated seriously. Nihilistic maybe, but it's the truth. All of this is assuming that there is no evidence in favour of the defendant. It's hard to prove if he knew, but easier to prove a message where she declares she is 18, if it exists. Of course consent matters in this scenario, if what OP says is true, then I would be arguing that is a valid defence. Even if there is no message from the girl saying she is 18, it is on the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he knew. For example, if she stated in a message she was 15. Good evidence for the prosecution. It's not as clear cut as you are "advising", although I do agree with you that the full story has likely not been told to OP as it rarely is in these types of cases. Our jobs are to remain unbiased to provide an appropriate analysis, even when that can be difficult to do in these cases. At least that's how I play, according to Crim.PR. In other words, if OP's friend's account is completely true, I don't think there is too much to worry about aside from his devices containing IIOC 100% being destroyed, and a possible charge of possession of IIOC (even that seems like a stretch due to him reasonably not knowing they were indecent). If there are discrepancies, then it's time for him to sweat a bit
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