RTE News
February 2, 2009
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0202/northlegal.html?RTEMAILID
Tough new laws aimed at protecting children and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse and exploitation have come into force in Northern Ireland.
The measures include hefty penalties for a range of sexual offences.
The introduction of these new laws is the first major overhaul of sexual offences legislation in the North for more than a century.
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| Belfast court Can now impose tougher penalties |
The legislation sets the age of consent at 16, in line with the rest of the UK. The Stormont Criminal Justice Minister Paul Goggins said this defines the age in law at which a criminal offence takes place, even when consent is given.
Offences relating to the making, taking and possession of indecent images of children will be extended to apply to children up to the age of 18, instead of 16 as at present.
New laws also crackdown on kerb crawling and prostitution.
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