NCJ Number
170886
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1997) Pages: 367-377
Date Published
1997
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Following abolition of the common law presumption in England and Wales in September 1993 that a boy under 14 years of age is not capable of sexual intercourse, 12 prosecutions of boys between 10 and 14 years of age resulted in 2 convictions in 1993 and 1994.
Abstract
The legislative change abolishing the common law presumption brought the law closer to reality, since biological evidence clearly indicates boys under 14 years of age are capable of sexual intercourse. The effect of making it possible for a boy to be charged with rape, however, remains ambiguous. It apparently produces as many problems as it solves. Rape cases involving boys under 14 years of age indicate alleged rapists and probable victims receive the wrong sort of attention. While safeguarding the rights of those accused of crime is important, the slow process of the criminal justice system appears to prolong the complex task of understanding what has happened in young people's lives. Courts do not seem to be providing the appropriate context in which unpleasant incidents can be confronted in a way that produces psychological solutions for all parties, including parents. Further, newspaper reports of rape committed by young boys cannot identify what is happening behind the scenes. Confronting the reality that boys between 10 and 13 years of age are capable of rape opens the window to another set of problems that must be confronted. 2 references and 1 note