§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of prosecutions of(a) heterosexuals beneath the age of 16 and (b) homosexuals beneath the age of 18 years for breaching the legal age of sexual consent in England and Wales over the last five years. [31459]
§ Mr. MichaelThe specific information requested is given in the table, which does not include offences such as rape, indecent assault on a male or female or gross indecency with children.
Number of males prosecuted for specific sexual offences by age, 1992–1996 England and Wales 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Males aged under 16 (a)heterosexual offences Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 13 2 5 11 7 4 Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16 6 4 5 9 3 Males aged under 21 from 1992 to 1994 and under 18 from 1995 onwards1 (b) homosexual offences Buggery 52 48 57 18 10 Indecency between males 33 13 17 6 1 1 Section 145 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 amended section 12 of the Sexual Offences Act 1967—lowering from 21 to 18 the age at which men may lawfully perform consenting homosexual acts in private.