The offence of Sexual Touching replaced Indecent Assault in New South Wales on 1 December 2018. If you have touched another person in a sexual manner without the other person’s consent, then you may be charged with sexual touching. An example of this is if you are in a night club setting and walk up to someone and grope their private area. A person may still be charged with Indecent Assault if the alleged conduct occurred prior to 1 December 2018.
The offence of sexual touching is created by Section 61KC of the Crimes Act 1900.

The Section states that a person is guilty of sexual touching if he or she, without the consent of the complainant and knowing that consent is absent, intentionally:

• sexually touches the complainant, or
• incites the complainant to sexually touch him or her, or
• incites a third person to sexually touch the complainant, or
• incites the complainant to sexually touch a third person.

If any of these elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt then you will be found not guilty.

What are my options?

You may choose to plead guilty or not guilty.

Pleading Guilty

If you accept and agree with the Sexual Touching charge, then you agree with what the police have alleged. An early plea of guilty entitles you to a 25% discount on sentence. It is definitely worth getting in touch with one of our experienced lawyers at the earliest so they can try their best to negotiate the police facts of the charge and the charge itself. It is common for experienced lawyers to try and negotiate the facts that the judge or magistrate will read when sentencing you. The facts the judge or magistrate reads will give the judge an understanding of what sentence you should receive.
Our experienced lawyers work hard to try and negotiate the facts or try to have the charge negotiated to a different and less serious charge. Speak to one of our experienced team today.

The Penalty for Sexual Touching
The offence of Sexual Touching carries a maximum of 5 years in prison if it’s in the District Court, or 2 years if it remains in the Local Court.
The maximum penalty increases to 10 years if the offence was committed against a child who was at least 10 years of age but under 16. The maximum penalty is 16 years if the child was under the age of 10.

Pleading Not Guilty

If you disagree with the charge Sexual Touching, then it is best you enter a plea of not guilty. Defences that can be used are:

• Duress- your actions taken need to be reasonable in that your conduct was to avoid serious death or injury.
• Necessity- where it was vital to prevent serious injury, danger or death.
• Self Defence- the act was to protect yourself, another person or property.

The burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you touched another person (complainant), the touching was sexual, consent was not given for the touching, you knew that you did not have consent to touch the other person in that manner or you reckless as to whether you had consent. If the prosecution fails to prove these elements then you will be found not guilty.