Tougher measures against sex crimes introduced

Tough new legislation against sex offenders - including measures against Internet 'grooming' - has been introduced in the Commons today.

If passed, the legislation provides for tougher penalties, the grading of Internet 'grooming' as a criminal offence and a crackdown on the monitoring of registered paedophiles. The Order of Council for the Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults Bill which was presented at Westminster today by Home Secretary David Blunkett.

The bill comes on the same day as a PSNI report revealing that child prostitution is growing in the province, with children as young as 13 involved in the sex trade.

SDLP assembly member Patricia Lewsley welcomed the Bill, saying that the next step is to ensure that there are "sufficient resources in place to implement its requirements".

She added: "There is no point in having stronger legislation without the ability to enforce it through the criminal justice system."

Women's Coalition leader Monica McWilliams said that the move, whilst positive, must be allied to improved therapeutic and support programmes. Ms McWilliams said that some victims of child abuse and child prostitution often felt terrified and feared that may be "re-victimised again" through the prosecution process.

Whilst the reform of the law on sex offences applies to England and Wales, major changes for the province are to the registration requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 1997.

Under the proposed new legislation, offenders will have to notify police of changes to their registered details within three days as opposed to the current 14 days. All notifications must be renewed annually, in person, with a power for the police to take new photographs and fingerprints. The definition of home address will also be broadened to include any location at which the offender could reliably be found.

The Bill will consider children under 13 to be incapable of giving consent to any sexual activity, and any sexual intercourse with a child under 13 will be deemed as rape – carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Anti-grooming measures have been designed to catch adults who meet a child with the intention of committing a sex offence before any activity takes place. The commercial sexual exploitation of a child – through prostitution and Internet pornography – has also been specified.

Commenting of tomorrow's Commons debate, Home Secretary David Blunkett said: "We are dealing with difficult and sensitive issues, and we aim to strike the right balance between providing greater protection for victims and ensuring fairness under the law for defendants."

The scale of the problem has become clearer in recent months, particularly since the start of Operation Ore on December 17. And elsewhere, a UK-wide survey for a national newspaper recently revealed that one child in five has been a victim of unwanted sexual advances outside their home.

(AM)