Sexual offences—overview

The offences of common assault and battery Strictly speaking, assault and battery are separate summary offences. Assault arises where a defendant, intentionally or recklessly, causes another person to fear immediate and unlawful violence, whereas battery is made out when unlawful force is applied intentionally or recklessly. A battery may occur after an assault, but that is not invariably so... Both are summary-only offences, ordinarily tried in the magistrates’ court. However, where the incident is racially motivated, section 29 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA 1998) permits trial either in the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court. See Racially or religiously aggravated assault below. The usual statutory limit for charging assault or battery is six months from the date of the offence. Different time limits may apply in proceedings for common assault or battery where the conduct alleged amounts to domestic violence and the complainant has... given a witness statement with a view to its possible admission as evidence in the proceedings, and provided that statement to a police constable, or a person authorised by a police constable to receive... ...

The offence of false imprisonment False imprisonment is an offence at common law, though it more frequently arises as a civil tort claim (see Practice Note: False imprisonment). It is triable only on indictment. The offence is closely related to the common law offence of kidnapping. The crucial difference is that, unlike kidnapping, there is no requirement to prove the victim was ‘taken and carried away’ (R v Hutchins [1988] Crim LR 379 (not reported by LexisNexis®)). See Practice Note: Common law offence of kidnapping. Elements of the offence In R v Rahman (1985) 81 Cr App Rep 349 (not reported by LexisNexis®), it was held that, on a charge of false imprisonment, the prosecution must establish: unlawful intentional or reckless restraint of a victim’s freedom of movement from a particular place Restraint of a victim's freedom of movement At common law, false imprisonment involves conduct by the defendant that directly and deliberately (or recklessly) brings about the victim’s confinement within an area defined by the defendant. For criminal liability to arise, the act must be accompanied by a distinct mental element (see further below)...

General Simple criminal damage is an either-way matter unless the alleged loss is £5,000 or below, in which case it is to be dealt with as summary-only. If the harm was caused by fire, or the racially aggravated variant is charged, it remains either-way even where the value falls under £5,000. Likewise, if the defendant faces two or more counts of the same or a similar kind and their combined value tops £5,000, the case is treated as either-way. Where the damage exceeds £5,000, such cases are ordinarily heard summarily unless the court considers any of these aggravating aspects apply and its powers would be inadequate: intentional fire-setting commission by a group damage of particularly high value clear racial motivation The Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines indicate that the Crown Court could be the proper forum where the value is above £10,000. Section 50 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSCA 2022) strengthens the...

The offence of actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) can be tried in either the magistrates' court or the Crown Court. In most instances, ABH is tried in the magistrates' court unless that court considers its sentencing powers inadequate (see: Sentencing for ABH below). Elements of the offence Under section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), the prosecution must prove: an assault or a battery; and that the assault or battery caused the victim actual bodily harm. Assault The prosecution must establish: conduct, done intentionally or recklessly, which causes the victim to apprehend immediate unlawful violence. It is unnecessary for any force to be used; the required element is the fear or anticipation of violence. Battery The prosecution must establish: the infliction of unlawful force upon another person; and that such force was applied intentionally or recklessly. The courts have held that the force need not be applied directly. For instance, in DPP v K (a minor) the Divisional Court ruled that a schoolboy who poured acid into a hand dryer, causing injury to another pupil...