{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/sexual-offences-northern-ireland-order-2008/article-72A",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/sexual-offences-northern-ireland-order-2008/article-72A.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/2008/1769",
  "legislation_title": "The Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/sexual-offences-northern-ireland-order-2008",
  "path": "article/72A",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "72A",
  "heading": "Sending etc an unwanted sexual image",
  "text": "(1) A person (A) commits an offence if—\n(a) A intentionally sends or gives to another person (B) a sexual image,\n(b) A does so—\n(i) without B’s consent, and\n(ii) without reasonably believing that B consents, and\n(c) either condition 1 or condition 2 is met.\n(2) Condition 1 is that A intends that B will look at the image and that doing so will cause humiliation, alarm or distress to B.\n(3) Condition 2 is that—\n(a) A’s purpose in sending or giving the image is to obtain sexual gratification, and\n(b) A is reckless as to whether B is humiliated, alarmed or distressed.\n(4) For the purposes of this Article, a sexual image is a photograph or film of—\n(a) any person engaging in a sexual activity, or\n(b) any person’s genitals.\n(5) In paragraph (4)—\n“photograph” includes the negative as well as the positive version;\n“film” means a moving image.\n(6) References to a photograph or film also include—\n(a) an image, whether made by computer graphics or in any other way, which appears to be a photograph or film,\n(b) a copy of a photograph, film or image within sub-paragraph (a), and\n(c) data stored by any means which is capable of conversion into a photograph, film or image within sub-paragraph (a).\n(7) References to sending or giving such a photograph or film to another person include, in particular—\n(a) sending it to another person by any means, electronically or otherwise,\n(b) showing it to another person, and\n(c) placing it for a particular person to find.\n(8) A person guilty of an offence under this Article is liable—\n(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;\n(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Art. 72A inserted (27.11.2023) by Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (c. 19), ss. 2, 30(2); S.R. 2023/188, art. 3(a)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/2008/1769/article/72A",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T04:39:00.821217+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}