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CHAPTER VIII.

OFFENCES AGAINST MORALITY AND PUBLIC DECENCY.

It is not our intention in this work to describe in detail the most flagrant of the crimes which fall under this title. Rape and indecent assault are dealt with in a subsequent chapter.' We will allude here very briefly to crimes connected with sexual intercourse and to other immoral and indecent offences.

1

Abduction.

It is a misdemeanour punishable with imprisonment for two years with or without hard labour for any one to take, or cause to be taken, an unmarried girl under the age of sixteen years out of the possession and against the will of her father or mother, or of any other person having the lawful care or charge of her.2

It is no defence that the girl was a consenting party to the abduction,3 or that she was really the proposer of the scheme. But if she left her home without persuasion or assistance of any kind from the defendant, he cannot be convicted of abduction merely because he received her into his house and refused to restore her.5

The motives of the accused are, under this section, wholly immaterial. The fact that they were of the best possible kind will afford him no defence. It is not merely a seducer, who is punishable for this offence; any person, who takes the girl from her home for purposes which are inconsistent with the exercise of the control of her proper guardian, can be convicted under this section.

If the accused at the time he took the girl away did not know, and had no reason to know, that she was under the lawful care or charge of such

1 Part III., Chap. VII., post, p. 326.

2 Offences against the Person Act, 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 100), s. 55.

3 R. v. Mankletow (1853), Dearsl. 159.

4 R. v. Robins (1844), 1 C. & K. 455.

5 R. v. Olifier (1866), 10 Cox, 402.

6 R. v. Booth (1872), 12 Cox, 231.

parent or guardian, he cannot be convicted.

But the fact that the accused

honestly and on reasonable grounds believed the girl to be over the age of sixteen will afford him no defence, if as a matter of fact she be under that age. In all these cases the age of the girl must be strictly proved-that is, by the production of the certificate of her birth and by clear evidence of her identity with the person named in the certificate.3

It is a misdemeanour punishable with imprisonment for two years with or without hard labour for any one to take, or cause to be taken, an unmarried girl under the age of eighteen years out of the possession and against the will of her father or mother, or of any other person having the lawful care or charge of her, with intent that she should be carnally known by any man.1

It is a defence to this charge if the accused can show that at the time of taking the girl out of lawful custody he had reasonable cause to believe that she was of or above the age of eighteen. It is also a defence if it be shown that the girl left her parents of her own accord without any solici tation from the accused. But proof that it was owing to his inducements that she left them is sufficient to convict him, provided there be evidence of the intent required by the section.

It is felony punishable with fourteen years' penal servitude for any one from motives of lucre to take away or detain against her will a woman of any age entitled to property, with intent to marry and carnally know her or to cause her to be married or carnally known by another; or to fraudulently allure, take away or detain an heiress under the age of twenty-one, against the will of her guardians, with the same intent; or by force to take away or detain against her will any woman of any age with the same intent.

7

8

The words of the statute are "shall have any interest, whether legal or equitable, present or future, absolute, conditional or contingent, in any real or personal estate, or shall be a presumptive heiress or co-heiress, or presumptive next of kin, or one of the presumptive next of kin, to any one having such interest." The defendant, if convicted, is incapable of taking

1 R. v. Hibbert (1869), L. R. 1 C. C. R. 184.

2 R. v. Prince (1875), L. R. 2 C. C. R. 154, ante, p. 118.

3 R. v. Rogers (1914), 24 Cox, 465.

Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 69), s. 7.
Ib.; R. v. Packer (1886), 16 Cox, 57.

6 R. v. Miller (1876), 13 Cox, 179; R. v. Henkers (1886), 16 Cox, 257.
724 & 25 Vict. c. 100, s. 53.

8 Ib. s. 54.

any interest in the woman's property, real or personal, and if a marriage has taken place the property will, on the conviction of the prisoner, be settled as a judge of the Chancery Division thinks best.1

Procuration.

The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885, also makes various acts of procuration of women and girls misdemeanours punishable with imprisonment for two years, with or without hard labour. Thus it is an offence to procure or attempt to procure any female under twenty-one, who is not a common prostitute, (a) to have carnal connection with any person, or (b) to become a common prostitute, or (c) to leave the United Kingdom with the intent that she may become an inmate of or frequent a brothel elsewhere, or (d) to leave her usual place of abode in the United Kingdom with the intent that she may become an inmate of or frequent a brothel within or without the King's dominions. Any male person convicted of any of these offences may, in addition to the punishment mentioned above, be sentenced to be once privately whipped. Again, by section 3, it is an offence to procure or attempt to procure by threats or intimidation any female to have unlawful carnal connection, or by false representations to procure or attempt to procure any female, not being a common prostitute, to have unlawful carnal connection, or to administer any stupefying drug to any female with intent thereby to enable any person to have carnal connection with her. But no person accused of any of the above offences can be convicted upon the evidence of one witness only, unless there is material corroboration of that evidence. Section 8 of the Act makes it a misdemeanour to detain any female against her will on any premises or in any brothel with intent. that she may be carnally known by any man.

The Children Act, 1908,5 contains several provisions for the better protection of young girls exposed to the risk of seduction or procuration. Under that Act it is a misdemeanour

1 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100, s. 53.

2 48 & 49 Vict. c. 69.

S. 2 as amended by 2 & 3 Geo. V. c. 20, s. 2.

42 & 3 Geo. V. c. 20, s. 3.

58 Edw. VII. c. 67.

"to

punishable by imprisonment for two years for any person who has the custody, charge or care of a girl under sixteen to cause or encourage the seduction, or prostitution, or unlawful carnal knowledge, of such girl. Knowingly to allow the girl to consort with, or be in the employment of, any prostitute or person of known immoral character is a sufficient "causing or encouraging" to render a person liable to conviction, if the girl has in fact been seduced, or become a prostitute, or been unlawfully carnally known. Further any person, who has the custody of a girl under sixteen and who knows that she is exposed to the risk of seduction or prostitution, or of being unlawfully carnally known, may be bound over to exercise due care and supervision over her.1

To steal children under fourteen is a felony punishable with seven years' penal servitude; but no one can be convicted of this crime who took the child under a claim of right.2

Brothels.

Keeping a brothel is an indictable misdemeanour at common law punishable with fine and imprisonment. Any person, whether resident in or a ratepayer of a parish or not, may prosecute, even though he has suffered no personal annoyance or injury therefrom.

The Disorderly Houses Act, 1751, facilitated prosecutions for this offence. By section 5 of that Act any two inhabitants of a parish, paying scot and lot therein, may give notice in writing to a constable or other peace officer of the parish of any person who keeps a brothel. The officer, on receiving such notice, must go with the two inhabitants before a justice of the peace, and on their swearing before him that they believe the contents. of such notice to be true, and entering into a recognizance to give evidence against the accused, the officer must enter into a recognizance to prosecute. He may recover the cost of such prosecution from the poor-rate, and if the accused be convicted, the inhabitants who gave notice are entitled to receive £10 each from the same fund.

1 8 Edw. VII. c. 67, ss. 17, 18, as amended by 10 Edw. VII. & 1 Geo. V. c. 25, s. 1;. and see R. v. Moon, [1910] 1 K. B. 818; R. v. Chainey, [1914] 1 K. B. 137.

224 & 25 Vict. c. 100, s. 56; and see R. v. Duguid (1906), 94 L. T. 887.

3 25 Geo. II. c. 36, made perpetual by 28 Geo. II. c. 19, s. 1. Inhabitants paying scot and lot are now equivalent to, inhabitant ratepayers, and the constable to a member of the police force of the district, or the parish constable, if any, appointed under 35 & 36 Vict. c. 92, s. 7.

By the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885,1 every person commits an offence punishable on summary conviction by fine or imprisonment who keeps or manages or acts or assists in the management of a brothel; or who, being the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any premises, knowingly permits such premises or any part thereof to be used as a brothel; or who, being the lessor or landlord of any premises, or the agent of such lessor or landlord, lets the same or any part thereof with the knowledge that they are to be used as a brothel.

2

In order to be a brothel it is not essential that any indecency or disorder should be visible from the outside, but the premises must be used as a brothel and not merely as the residence of a single prostitute. The fact that the defendant "acted or behaved as master or mistress, or as the person having the care, government or management of the house, is sufficient evidence that he or she kept " the brothel.

Upon the conviction of a tenant for permitting the demised premises to be used as a brothel, his landlord can require him to assign the lease of the premises to a third person, to be approved by the landlord; if the tenant does not do so within three months, the lease will be forfeited. And if after the conviction has been brought to his notice the landlord fails to exercise this right and the place is again used as a brothel, the landlord may be convicted of aiding and abetting the offence. Again, by the Licensing (Consolidation) Act, 1910,5 a licensed person, who permits his premises to be used as a brothel, is liable to a penalty of £20 and at once forfeits his licence, and is disqualified for ever from holding any licence for the sale of intoxicating liquors.

6

Abortion.

It is a felony punishable with penal servitude for life for any woman, being with child, to unlawfully administer to

1 48 & 49 Vict. c. 69, s. 13, as amended by 2 & 3 Geo. V. c. 20, s. 4 (1).

2 R. v. Rice (1866), L. R. 1 C. C. R. 21.

3 Singleton v. Ellison, [1895] 1 Q. B. 607; and see Durose v. Wilson (1907), 96 L. T. 645.

4 2 & 3 Geo. V. c. 20, s. 5.

5 10 Edw. VII. & 1 Geo. V. c. 24, s. 77.

R. v. West Riding Justices (1888), 21 Q. B. D. 258.

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