# Sexual Offences Act 2003, Section 23: Sections 16 to 19: exception for spouses and civil partners


(1) Conduct by a person (A) which would otherwise be an offence under any of sections 16 to 19 against another person (B) is not an offence under that section if at the time —
(a) B is 16 or over, and
(b) A and B are lawfully married or civil partners of each other.
(2) In proceedings for such an offence it is for the defendant to prove that A and B were at the time lawfully married or civil partners of each other.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/section/23 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/sexual-offences-act-2003/section-23
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.