Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Sexual offences

39 (1) Civil legal services provided in relation to a sexual offence, but only where—

(a) the services are provided to the victim of the offence, or

(b) the victim of the offence has died and the services are provided to the victim’s personal representative.

Exclusions

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) is subject to—

(a) the exclusions in Part 2 of this Schedule, with the exception of paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 8 and 12 of that Part, and

(b) the exclusion in Part 3 of this Schedule.

Definitions

(3) In this paragraph—

• “personal representative”, in relation to an individual who has died, means—

  (a)

  a person responsible for administering the individual’s estate under the law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, or

  (b)

  a person who, under the law of another country or territory, has functions equivalent to those of administering the individual’s estate;

• “sexual offence” means—

  (a)

  an offence under a provision of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”), and

  (b)

  an offence under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (“the 1978 Act”) (indecent photographs of children).

(4) The references in sub-paragraph (1) to a sexual offence include—

(a) incitement to commit a sexual offence,

(b) an offence committed by a person under Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 (encouraging or assisting crime) in relation to which a sexual offence is the offence which the person intended or believed would be committed,

(c) conspiracy to commit a sexual offence, and

(d) an attempt to commit a sexual offence.

(5) In this paragraph references to a sexual offence include conduct which would be an offence under a provision of the 2003 Act or section 1 of the 1978 Act but for the fact that it took place before that provision or section came into force.

(6) Conduct falls within the definition of a sexual offence for the purposes of this paragraph whether or not there have been criminal proceedings in relation to the conduct and whatever the outcome of any such proceedings.