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Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against morality and decency, sexual crimes, and crimes against public welfare - Sexual crimes

129A: Sexual conduct with consent induced by certain threats

You could also call this:

“Using threats to make someone agree to sexual acts is against the law”

If you have sexual contact with someone who only agreed because they were threatened, you can go to prison for up to 14 years. This is true even if you didn’t make the threat yourself, but you knew about it.

If you do an indecent act with someone who only agreed because they were threatened, you can go to prison for up to 5 years. Again, this applies even if you didn’t make the threat, but you knew about it.

The law considers three types of threats:

  1. A threat to commit a crime that could lead to prison time, but doesn’t involve physical force.

  2. A threat to tell others about something bad someone did (or didn’t do), which could seriously damage their reputation.

  3. A threat to misuse power or authority that comes from a job or a business relationship, in a way that would harm the person being threatened.

These rules apply whether the person being threatened is asked to do something indecent themselves, or to let someone else do something indecent to them.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM329075.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Rights and equality > Anti-discrimination
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Part 7 Crimes against morality and decency, sexual crimes, and crimes against public welfare
Sexual crimes

129ASexual conduct with consent induced by certain threats

  1. Every one who has sexual connection with another person knowing that the other person has been induced to consent to the connection by threat is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.

  2. Every one who does an indecent act on another person knowing that the other person has been induced to consent to the act by threat is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years.

  3. For the purposes of subsection (1), a person who has sexual connection with another person knows that the other person has been induced to consent to the sexual connection by threat if (and only if) he or she knows that the other person has been induced to consent to the sexual connection by an express or implied threat of a kind described in subsection (5).

  4. For the purposes of subsection (2),—

  5. a person who does an indecent act on another person knows that the other person has been induced to consent to the act by threat if (and only if) he or she knows that the other person has been induced to consent to the act by an express or implied threat of a kind described in subsection (5); and
    1. a person is induced to consent to an indecent act whether—
      1. he or she is induced to consent to the doing of an indecent act with or on him or her; or
        1. he or she is induced to consent to do an indecent act himself or herself.

        2. The kinds of threat referred to in subsections (3) and (4)(a) are—

        3. a threat that the person making the threat or some other person will commit an offence that—
          1. is punishable by imprisonment; but
            1. does not involve the actual or threatened application of force to any person; and
            2. a threat that the person making the threat or some other person will make an accusation or disclosure (whether true or false) about misconduct by any person (whether living or dead) that is likely to damage seriously the reputation of the person against or about whom the accusation or disclosure is made; and
              1. a threat that the person making the threat will make improper use, to the detriment of the person consenting, of a power or authority arising out of—
                1. an occupational or vocational position held by the person making the threat; or
                  1. a commercial relationship existing between the person making the threat and the person consenting.

                  Notes
                  • Section 129A: replaced, on , by section 7 of the Crimes Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 41).