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Crimes Act 1961

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

134: Sexual conduct with young person under 16

You could also call this:

“It's against the law for anyone to do sexual things with or to a person younger than 16 years old.”

You can’t have sexual connection with someone under 16 years old. If you do, you could go to prison for up to 10 years. Even if you try to have sexual connection with someone under 16, you could still go to prison for up to 10 years.

If you do an indecent act on someone under 16, you could go to prison for up to 7 years. An indecent act includes indecently assaulting the young person.

These rules don’t apply if you were married to the young person when it happened.

If you’re under 16, you can’t be charged for being part of this crime if the person who did it was 16 or older.

In this law, a ‘young person’ means someone who is under 16 years old.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM329212.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
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“A law that used to make it illegal to do inappropriate things with young girls has been removed.”

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134A: Defence to charge under section 134, or

“The law explains when someone can defend themselves against a charge of having sexual contact with a young person”

Part 7 Crimes against morality and decency, sexual crimes, and crimes against public welfare
Sexual crimes

134Sexual conduct with young person under 16

  1. Every one who has sexual connection with a young person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

  2. Every one who attempts to have sexual connection with a young person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

  3. Every one who does an indecent act on a young person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.

  4. No person can be convicted of a charge under this section if he or she was married to the young person concerned at the time of the sexual connection or indecent act concerned.

  5. The young person in respect of whom an offence against this section was committed cannot be charged as a party to the offence if the person who committed the offence was of or over the age of 16 years when the offence was committed.

  6. In this section,—

  7. young person means a person under the age of 16 years; and
    1. doing an indecent act on a young person includes indecently assaulting the young person.

      Notes
      • Section 134: replaced, on , by section 7 of the Crimes Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 41).