# Sexual Offences Act 2003, Section 28: Sections 25 and 26: exception for spouses and civil partners

Extent: E+W

(1) Conduct by a person (A) which would otherwise be an offence under section 25 or 26 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.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/section/28 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/sexual-offences-act-2003/section-28
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.