Sexual Offences (Protected Material) Act 1997

Prospective

1 Meaning of “protected material”. E+W

(1) In this Act “protected material”, in relation to proceedings for a sexual offence, means a copy (in whatever form) of any of the following material, namely—

(a) a statement relating to that or any other sexual offence made by any victim of the offence (whether the statement is recorded in writing or in any other form),

(b) a photograph or pseudo-photograph of any such victim, or

(c) a report of a medical examination of the physical condition of any such victim,

which is a copy given by the prosecutor to any person under this Act.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) a person is, in relation to any proceedings for a sexual offence, a victim of that offence if—

(a) the charge, summons or indictment by which the proceedings are instituted names that person as a person in relation to whom that offence was committed; or

(b) that offence can, in the prosecutor’s opinion, be reasonably regarded as having been committed in relation to that person;

and a person is, in relation to any such proceedings, a victim of any other sexual offence if that offence can, in the prosecutor’s opinion, be reasonably regarded as having been committed in relation to that person.

(3) In this Act, where the context so permits (and subject to subsection (4))—

(a) references to any protected material include references to any part of any such material; and

(b) references to a copy of any such material include references to any part of any such copy.

(4) Nothing in this Act—

(a) so far as it refers to a defendant making any copy of—

(i) any protected material, or

(ii) a copy of any such material,

applies to a manuscript copy which is not a verbatim copy of the whole of that material or copy; or

(b) so far as it refers to a defendant having in his possession any copy of any protected material, applies to a manuscript copy made by him which is not a verbatim copy of the whole of that material.