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Jo C.
Jo C., Barrister
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Another novel (fiction) so just need a general idea... This

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Another novel (fiction) so just need a general idea... This all takes place in the UK. Let's say a man aged 20 makes a pass at a girl aged 17. The girl is not interested, says she is not attracted to him. The man offers her money if she agrees to sexual
intercourse. She agrees. The man writers her a cheque and she puts it in her bag. They have sexual intercourse. The man then cancels the cheque with the bank before the girl can cash it. Has the man broken any laws? * The prostitution law says someone must
not pay a person of 16 or 17 for sex. Ultimately no money changed hands... * And what about the fact that he broke the agreement, the verbal contract, by not paying her?
Customer: replied 2 years ago.
PS, if this is Jo C again, note that I have just given a five star rating for that second question; I thought I'd done so as it said at the top of the page that I had rated you five stars, but I guess that meant for the previous question. It's highly confusing!
Which legislation are you looking at ?
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.
Any really. Can the man be prosecuted/convicted with anything? (My terminology may be wrong: can he go to jail or whatever?)I'd read somewhere that it's illegal to pay a 16 or 17 year old for sex. In this case she is 17 but the payment is not completed; he gets the bank to block or cancel (in some way, doesn't matter) the cheque before she pays it in.Prostitution and Exploitation of Prostitution? Or any other laws/acts/legislation? (Again, forgive my terminology)
Customer: replied 2 years ago.
PS or the Sexual Offences Act 2003, I think that has something about prostitution where the prostitute is aged 16 or 17?
I will have a look. I thought the age limit was lower actually but you never know with the Witchfinder General. I'm in court at the moment but I can do it later today if you can sent me a reminder?
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.
"I thought the age limit was lower actually" -- for paying someone for sex?It says on Wikipedia:
"Throughout Great Britain it is illegal to buy sex from a person younger than 18, although the age of consent for non-commercial sex is 16 throughout the United Kingdom." I am assuming this is correct?If that is the case, let us assume the girl is in that in-between area, old enough to consent to sex (over 16) but not old enough to be paid for sex (not yet 18): the girl is 17.
Sorry for the delay. This dropped off my question list.
I wouldn't take much notice of Wikipedia.
In your example, it is right to say that the new law defines a person as a 'child' unless they are over the age of 18 although a person would have a defence if he had sex with a person over the age of 13 in saying that he reasonably believed she was 18. With 17 year olds it would almost never be charged for that reason.
However, in your example, he is trying to purchase sex from a person under the age of 18 and there are various attempts that could be prosecuted. But you don't deal with the issue of how old he believed the girl was which is central to this topic.
Can I clarify anything for you?
Jo
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.
Oh, he knows she is 17, friend of the family, has known her for years, there's no ambiguity there.The ambiguity is in the fact that although the ARRANGEMENT was that he would pay her for sex, and he ATTEMPTED to make the payment, ultimately NO MONEY CHANGED HANDS.So perhaps I phrased the question poorly.I guess the question is, is it only illegal to ACTUALLY PAY a 17 year old for sex, or is it illegal to even OFFER TO PAY or ATTEMPT TO PAY?Let's say he wrote her a cheque, then after the sex he phoned the bank and had them cancel it or block it in some way, or took the money out of his account so that the cheque would bounce. Or he was paying her via internet banking and there were server problems and unknown to them at the time the payment didn't go through. So, no money actually changes hands.
Customer: replied 2 years ago.
He knows she is 17. The only ambiguity is in the fact that although the ARRANGEMENT was that he would pay her for sex, and he ATTEMPTED to make the payment, ultimately NO MONEY CHANGED HANDS.The question is, is it only illegal to ACTUALLY PAY a 17 year old for sex, or is it illegal to even OFFER TO PAY or ATTEMPT TO PAY?(Let's say he wrote her a cheque, then after the sex he phoned the bank and had them cancel it or block it in some way, or took the money out of his account so that the cheque would bounce. Or he was paying her via internet banking and there were server problems and unknown to them at the time the payment didn't go through. So, no money actually changes hands.)
there are attempts that could be charged.
There is an offence of soliciting a prostitute but it doesn't apply here because this isn't a public place.
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.
What does "attempts that could be charged" mean? Is that law terminology?I realise I have only paid for a brief answer not a detailed answer but I don't understand this terminology.Thanks...
Any offence can be charged as an attempt if you attempt to commit an offence but don't complete it.
It is rarely used as it is hard to prove. It has to be shown that a person did something 'more than merely preparatory' which is not easy.
It is very unlikely that he would be charged with attempts here.
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.
So, the person would not be charged with COMMITTING THE OFFENCE. But they may in theory be charged with ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT THE OFFENCE.So it comes down to evidence?1 If it was internet banking but the payment didn't go through it would be hard to prove that this happened due to lack of solid evidence. So it wouldn't go anywhere.2 If it was a handwritten cheque and he then cancelled the cheque, there would be PROOF that he attempted to pay her, she would have the physical cheque, so in this case it could go to court, and he would then be charged with ATTEMPTING...Is that basically the situation?
Customer: replied 2 years ago.
So, the person would not be charged with COMMITTING THE OFFENCE. But they may in theory be charged with ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT THE OFFENCE.So it comes down to evidence?1 If it was internet banking but the payment didn't go through it would be hard to prove that this happened due to lack of solid evidence. So it wouldn't go anywhere.2 If it was a handwritten cheque and he then cancelled the cheque, there would be PROOF that he attempted to pay her, she would have the physical cheque, so in this case it could go to court, and he would then be charged with ATTEMPTING...Is that basically the situation?
Yes, but attempts are rarely prosecuted. They are hard to prove.
1 Yes, although there may be a trail.
2 He wouldn't be but he could be.
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.
Thank you, ***** ***** 5 stars right away...