Section 70A Sexual grooming of childF1C1
This section applies where—
a court is considering the seriousness of a specified child sex offence,
the offence is aggravated by grooming, and
the offender was aged 18 or over when the offence was committed.
The court—
must treat the fact that the offence is aggravated by grooming as an aggravating factor, and
must state in open court that the offence is so aggravated.
An offence is “aggravated by grooming” if—
the offence was facilitated by, or involved, the offender grooming a person under the age of 18, or
the offence was facilitated by, or involved, a person other than the offender grooming a person under the age of 18 and the offender knew, or could reasonably be expected to have known, about the grooming when the offence was committed.
The person groomed need not have been a victim of the offence.
In this section “specified child sex offence” means—
an offence within any of subsections (5) to (7), or
an inchoate offence in relation to any such offence.
An offence is within this subsection if it is—
an offence under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (taking etc indecent photograph of child),
an offence under section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (possession of indecent photograph of child),
an offence under any of sections 5 to 8 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (rape and other offences against children under 13),
an offence under any of sections 8A to 8C of that Act (rape and other offences against children under 16),
an offence under any of sections 9 to 12 of that Act (other child sex offences),
an offence under section 14 of that Act (arranging or facilitating commission of child sex offence),
an offence under any of sections 16 to 19 of that Act (abuse of position of trust),
an offence under section 25 or 26 of that Act (familial child sex offences), or
an offence under any of sections 47 to 50 of that Act (sexual exploitation of children).
An offence is within this subsection if it is—
an offence under any of sections 1 to 4 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (rape, assault and causing sexual activity without consent),
an offence under any of sections 30 to 41 of that Act (sexual offences relating to persons with mental disorder),
an offence under any of sections 61 to 63 of that Act (preparatory offences), or
an offence under any of sections 66 to 66B, 67 or 67A of that Act (offences relating to exposure, intimate images and voyeurism),
and the victim or intended victim was under the age of 18.
An offence is within this subsection if it is an offence under section 71 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sexual activity in a public lavatory) and a person involved in the activity in question was under the age of 18.
Nothing in this section prevents a court from treating any other grooming of a person as an aggravating factor.
This section applies in relation to a person convicted of an offence on or after the day on which section 83 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 comes into force.
Annotations
Textual amendments
- F1
S. 70A inserted (29.6.2026) by Crime and Policing Act 2026 (c. 20), ss. 83(1), 255(3)(a)
Modifications
- C1
S. 70A modified (29.6.2026) by 2006 c. 52, s. 238(8) (as inserted by Crime and Policing Act 2026 (c. 20), ss. 83(2), 255(3)(a))