Sexual grooming

"Sexual grooming" refers to a serious form of criminal conduct that involves intentionally building a relationship with a child to gain their trust with the ultimate intention of sexually abusing, exploiting, or even trafficking them. Sexual grooming is regarded as one of the most heinous forms of criminal behaviour in our legal system, and depending on the severity and extent of the conduct, a conviction for an offense related to sexual grooming could result in a significant prison sentence and registration on the Sex Offenders Register.

Sexual grooming involves conduct that can ultimately lead to committing several statutory and common law offenses, including rape, sexual intercourse with a child under 16, or threatening communications. Due to its severity, sexual grooming is a topic that attracts significant public interest, law enforcement agencies, children's charities, and the media. To combat the issue, the government has taken action to ensure that sexual grooming is a statutory crime and has pledged to crack down on those involved in this heinous form of criminal conduct.

Statutory offenses directly related to sexual grooming are found in sections 15 and 15A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Section 15A was inserted by s67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, which came into force on 3 April 2017. Section 15 of the Act makes it a crime for a person over 18 to meet with a child under 16 following sexual grooming. This offense is committed if an adult meets or communicates with a child under 16, intentionally travels to meet the child or has the child travel to meet them, anywhere in the world, with the intention of doing something to the child that will involve a relevant offense. A relevant offense will amount to the sexual abuse, exploitation, or trafficking of the child. The penalty if convicted at summary level can be up to 6 months’ imprisonment, and if convicted on indictment, an accused can face up to 10 years in prison.

Due to s15A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force on 3 April 2017, it is now a criminal offense to have sexual communication with a child, effectively criminalizing sexual grooming itself, as opposed to just the end result. This means that it is an offense for a person aged 18 or over to intentionally communicate with a child under 16 for a sexual purpose, and the communication is sexual or intended to elicit a sexual response. The offense applies to any communication method, whether online or offline, including social media, email, texts, and letters. If convicted of having sexual communication with a child, you could face up to 12 months’ imprisonment at summary level or up to 2 years imprisonment if convicted on indictment.

If you are accused of sexual grooming, it is strongly recommended that you seek expert legal advice from a sexual grooming defence specialist at the earliest opportunity. Even the accusation of such an offense can be devastating to you and those around you. At Gray’s Defence Solicitors, our highly experienced team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to offer you a free confidential discussion about your case with the utmost sensitivity and confidentiality.

If you or your loved ones are under investigation and you require assistance at any stage of the proceedings, please feel free to get in touch with our friendly staff. We can be contacted on 01274 085199 or by email. We are solicitors covering cases on a national level so no matter where you are please do not hesitate to contact us.