# Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, Section 45: Sexual abuse of trust: defences


(1) It is a defence to a charge in proceedings under section 42 that A reasonably believed—
(a) that B had attained the age of 18, or
(b) that B was not a person in relation to whom A was in a position of trust.
(2) It is a defence to a charge in proceedings under section 42—
(a) that B was A's spouse or civil partner, or
(b) that immediately before the position of trust came into being, a sexual relationship existed between A and B.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if A was in a position of trust in relation to B by virtue of section 43(6).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2009/9/section/45 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/sexual-offences-scotland-act-2009/section-45
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.