56Persistent sexual abuse of child or young person under

56 Persistent sexual abuse of child or young person under special care (a) is an adult; and (b) engages in a relationship with a child, or a young person under the special care of the adult, that involves more than 1 sexual act. Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 25 years.

(2) For subsection (1) (b)— (a) a relationship includes repeated contact, interaction, engagement or association, of a sexual nature or otherwise; and (b) the relationship may have started, or started and ended, before the amendment day; and (c) 1 or more of the sexual acts may have occurred before the amendment day; and (d) a sexual offence that could be charged and proved under section 66B (Course of conduct charge—child sexual offences) can be 1 of the sexual acts. (3) For a person to be convicted of an offence against subsection (1), the trier of fact must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the relationship existed. Note For circumstances in which a majority verdict is a sufficient verdict in a proceeding for an offence against s (1), see the Juries Act 1967, s 38. (4) However, in a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1), there is no requirement for— (a) the prosecution to allege the particulars of a sexual act that would be necessary if the act were charged as a separate offence; or (b) the trier of fact to be satisfied of the particulars of a sexual act that it would need to be satisfied of if the act were charged as a separate offence; or (c) if the trier of fact is a jury—all the members of the jury to agree on the same sexual acts involved in the relationship.

(5) In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1)— (a) the prosecution is required to allege the particulars of the period of the relationship; and (b) without limiting the Criminal Code, section 64 (2) (Extension of offences if required geographical nexus exists), a geographical nexus exists for this offence if— (i) any part of the relationship was engaged in inside the ACT; or (ii) at least 1 of the sexual acts occurred inside the ACT. (6) For an offence against this section that occurred partly or wholly before 2 March 2018, the maximum penalty is the current maximum penalty, however, for a relationship engaged in over the period mentioned in table 56, column 2, the sentence imposed must not be more than the penalty mentioned in column 3 for that period. Table 56 item period of relationship penalty 1 wholly before the lesser of— (a) the current maximum penalty; and (b) either— (i) if 2 or more sexual acts alleged to be involved in the relationship are found to have occurred—the total of the maximum penalties for each offence constituted by the sexual acts; or (ii) in any other case—the highest maximum penalty for the offences constituted by the sexual acts alleged to be involved in the relationship

item period of relationship penalty 2 started before, on or after and ended before the lesser of— (a) the current maximum penalty; and (b) the 1991 maximum penalty 3 started on or after and ended on or after the current maximum penalty 4 started on or after the current maximum penalty Example—item 1, column 3, par (b) (i) An offender is convicted of an offence against this section for a relationship that occurred wholly before 24 December 1991. The jury agrees that 3 acts of indecency occurred. The maximum penalty for committing an act of indecency at the time the acts occurred is 5 years imprisonment. A court may impose a sentence for an offence against this section of up to the total of the maximum penalty for the 3 acts of indecency, ie 15 years imprisonment. Example—item 1, column 3, par (b) (ii) An offender is convicted of an offence against this section for a relationship that occurred wholly before 24 December 1991. The sexual acts that were alleged to be involved in the relationship included conduct that, if sufficiently particularised, would have constituted an act of indecency in the third degree and 3 acts of indecency without consent. The jury agrees that 2 sexual acts occurred but were not unanimous about which ones. The maximum penalty for the sexual acts at the time the acts occurred are 10 years and 5 years imprisonment respectively. A court may impose a sentence for an offence against this section of up to the highest maximum penalty for the alleged sexual acts, ie 10 years imprisonment. (7) A person— (a) may be charged on a single indictment with, and convicted of and punished for, both— (i) an offence against subsection (1); and