OpenLegislation

Section 6 Aggravating factors

(1)

Where a court is considering for the purposes of sentencing the seriousness of an offence under section 1 or 2, the court must treat the following as aggravating factors—

(a)

the offence was committed by a public official in relation to the performance of her or his duties;

(b)

the offence was committed by a member of the family of the victim;

(c)

the offence was committed by a person in a position of trust;

(d)

the offence was committed against a child;

(e)

the offence was committed against a vulnerable adult;

(f)

the offence was committed by the use of threats against a member of the family of the victim;

(g)

the offender deliberately or by gross negligence endangered the life of the victim;

(h)

the offence caused serious harm to the victim; or

(i)

the offence was committed by a person who has previously been convicted—

(i)

of an offence under section 1 or 2;

(ii)

of an offence under any provision repealed by this Act;

(iii)

in respect of anything done outside Northern Ireland which was not an offence mentioned in sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) but would have been such an offence if done in Northern Ireland.

(2)

In this section—

  • “public official” means—

    1. (a)

      a member of the Northern Ireland civil service or the United Kingdom civil service;

    2. (b)

      a person employed by a body established by an Act of Parliament or by Northern Ireland legislation;

    3. (c)

      the holder of an office established by an Act of Parliament or by Northern Ireland legislation;

    4. (d)

      a police officer;

  • “serious harm” has the same meaning as in Article 3 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008.