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Question

We were almost caught by the police having sex at a local nature reserve, in our van, at 10 o'clock at night. Could we have been prosecuted and, if so, what for?

Answer

It depends on where you were. The Sexual Offences Act (2003) doesn't legislate specifically against sex in public places, but there are distinctions in the law about where you can and cannot have sex in public. The fact that you were almost caught would suggest you were in a public place, which is illegal, so the police would have been able to charge you under the Public Order Act.

Usually the police will only act on a complaint from a third party. They could take action if an officer of the law was to catch you having sex, although it would be unusual for them to take you to court for it. Even so, there is still the potential for a charge under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 section 63 of trespass with the intent to commit a sexual offence.

So, you may have escaped prosecution this time, but it's worth knowing the risks you run before setting o

Updated: 29/01/2013


Question answered by CAB


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