Indecent assault

Indecent Assault carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment.

What is Indecent Assault?

Indecent Assault was contained in section 61L of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and stated:

Any person who assaults another person and, at the time of, or immediately before or after, the assault, commits an act of indecency on or in the presence of the other person, is liable to imprisonment for 5 years.

Meaning, it is an offence if you assault someone and before, during or after that assault, you commit an act of indecency, such as showing that person your genitals without their consent after pushing them.

Indecent Assault is a historical offence and is something that you can still be charged for if the offence occurred before 1 December 2018. This offence is now recognised as ‘Sexual Touching’. 

The following acts constitute Indecent Assault:

• Pushing someone to the floor and then touching their breasts.
• Grabbing someone and forcing them to touch you sexually.
• Touching someone’s buttocks. 

What Must be Proven?

For a person to be found guilty of Indecent Assault, the Prosecution must prove each of the following matters beyond a reasonable doubt:

• That you assaulted the complainant.
• That the assault was accompanied by an act of indecency or the act before, during or after the assault was indecent on or in the presence of the complainant.
• That the complainant did not consent.
• That you knew the complainant was not consenting.

If the Prosecution does not prove every single one of the above elements, you will be found not guilty. 

Which Court Will Hear the Matter?

This offence is a Table 2 offence, which means that it will be dealt with in the Local Court unless the Prosecution elects to have the matter dealt with in the District Court.

Possible Defences to Indecent Assault

The following defences may be available for an Indecent Assault charge:

• That the assault did not take place.
• That the assault had no accompanying indecent act present before, during or after.
• The complainant gave legal consent.
• Duress

Common Questions about Indecent Assault

Will I receive a criminal conviction?

A conviction and criminal record for this offence is very likely. 

In NSW, a Court can impose any of the following penalties for an Indecent Assault charge:

• Gaol Sentence
• Intensive Corrections Order (ICO)
• Community Corrections Orders (CCO)
• Conditional Release Order with conviction (CRO)
• Fine
• Conditional Release Order without conviction (CRO)
• S10A
• Section 10 

The consequences of a conviction can be serious depending upon what you do for a living. Some jobs require you to have no criminal convictions and a conviction for an Act of Indecency charge might jeopardise your job or make it difficult to obtain visas for overseas travel. Moreover, a conviction for an offence of Indecency can rule out certain career paths.

Will I go to Gaol for an Act of Indecency charge?

It is possible to receive an imprisonment sentence for this charge, so it is important that you obtain legal advice. 

What if the other person gave consent?

Consent is a very complicated legal term which can be read about further using this link [INSERT].

Will I end up on the sex offender register?

If the complainant in your matter was under the age of 18 years, it is possible that you will be on the sex offender register. Our solicitors can provide you with advice on this.

If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Armstrong Legal.