Queensland Criminal Code by Australian Queensland Legislation - Case Study Example

Name Course Tutor Date Citing Queensland Criminal Code by Australian Queensland legislation Introduction There are several facts that need to be taken to account regarding Mr. Cramer. One of them is that he is liked by his colleagues and the other one is that he is liked by his students. In one way or the other, these two facts can show us much of his character. However, he does something that cannot be regarded to be minor legally. As a result of his actions he is criminally liable to the following offences. Crimes committed under the Australian Queensland legislation Criminal Code 1889 (Qld) are as follows; (they are in the order of seriousness) Offence no. 1 Procuring a child for sexual intercourse The mental element in this case is the one of planning to procure the child for sexual purposes. The physical element on the other hand is the actual procuring of the child. This is against Section 235 (1) of the QLD Criminal Code. Maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment. 1Australian Queensland legislation. Queensland Criminal Code. Macquarie Dictionary, second edition, 1989. Mr. Cramer met Ms. Bodic aged 15 and there was a possibility of having sex with her as reflected in their conversation. “Prior to their first date, the two discuss the possibility that their meeting may lead to sexual activities. Both are open to the idea but neither of them is „dead set‟ on that outcome and they agree to simply „go with the flow‟ and see what happens.”This is a crime since the intention of the date was ultimately to lead to sex as discussed by the two (R. v. Advertising Standards-5). Defense Not withstanding the fact that Mr. Cramer enticed Ms. Bodic, he did not know her age. Therefore this cannot be said to be knowingly enticing her. In fact, it is Ms. Bodic who knowingly entices him by putting on make up in order to look older as she is well aware that Mr. Cramer will not accept the date and sex if he is aware of her age. Sub section 3 states that “procure” means knowingly entice or recruit for sexual exploitation” (Qld 135-137). This reveals that the girl is conscious of her deeds as she is not mentally challenged and is taking advantage of the fact that she is under age. Additionally, there is mutual consent of both parties to engage in sex a fact that cannot be dismissed as sexual exploitation on normal grounds. Offence no.2 Taking a child under 16 for an immoral purpose The mental element constitutes planning to take the child for immoral purposes. On the other hand, the physical element constitutes taking the child for immoral purposes. 2R. v. Advertising Standards Auth. Ltd., ex p. Vernons Organisation Ltd., applied, 1992. 3Australian Queensland legislation. Queensland Criminal Code. Macquarie Dictionary, second edition, 1989. This is against Section 219 of the QLD Criminal Code. (Qld 130-131). The penalty is 10 years imprisonment, if the child is under 12 years and the act is the crime of indecently dealing with a child under 16, sec 219. Mr. Cramer in this case takes a girl who is aged 15years literally the age of the students that he had been teaching. Mr. Cramer had the intentions of having coffee with the girl and later engaging in sexual intercourse as he had been accustomed to since his divorce with his wife. Mr Cramer had even gone ahead of discussing the possibility of the date leading to sexual activity with the girl prior to their meeting. Further more he did not question or made an inquiry on the age of the girl since he could have been curious enough as there were no information that the girl had made to disclose on her age status (R. v. Taylor-15). Defense under Section 219 (4) If the illegal act is one defined to form an offence in section 208 and since Ms. Bodic is above 12 years, it will be a defense to prove that Mr. Creamer believed, on reasonable grounds, Ms. Bodic was of or above 18 years (Qld 128-130). 4Australian Queensland legislation. Queensland Criminal Code. Macquarie Dictionary, second edition, 1989. 5R. v. Taylor. Criminal Appeal Office Index, Archbold, Criminal Pleading, Evidence & Practice, 1993. (5) If the illegal act is one defined to form an offence in section 210 or 215 and since Ms. Bodic is above 12 years, it will be a defense to prove that Mr. Creamer believed, on reasonable grounds, Ms. Bodic was of or above 16 years (Qld 128-130). Mr. Cramer did that he did not know her age since there was no provision of it or any information that could even give a clue of the age of the girl. He further defends himself that if he knew he would not have met the girl since she was a child. In addition to this, the profile picture of the girl showed her as an adult and that many people believed Ms. Bodic as an adult. Lastly on the prime day of their coffee date the girl had intentionally applied had some make up to appear older than she really was. This blindfolded Mr. Cramer. On the other had the girl says that she has stayed without sexual encounters as revealed in their talk with Mr. Cramer ‘it „has been a long time‟ since either of them last engaged in sexual activities’. Thus Ms. Bodic might have been used to tricking men. Also the fact that she had stayed for a while without sexual encounters could have driven her to do anything in her might to secure herself a man for sex. Offence no. 3 218A, Using internet etc. to procure children under 16 The mental element is that of planning to use the internet with a mentality of procuring a child. On the other hand, the physical element is that of using it to procure child. Each of the offences has a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. Mr. Cramer pleaded guilty of using the internet with intent to procure a child under 16 to engage in a sexual act under sec. 218A (1) and in sec 218(b) of using the internet with intent to expose a child under 16 to indecent matter (Qld 130). 6Australian Queensland legislation. Queensland Criminal Code. Macquarie Dictionary, second edition, 1989. Mr. Cramer often used face book to actively search for people online in order to meet them in person and, occasionally, to engage in sexual activities. His act is deliberate as he seeks females who would later engage in sexual activity. This could have led to his negligence into investigating on the age of the girl. Still he is used to making such conversations with the intention of meeting his online friends in person in order to engage in sexual affairs with them. Defense; Sub section 9 states that, “It is a defense to a charge under this section to prove the adult believed on reasonable grounds that the person was at least 16 years…” (Qld 135). Mr. Cramer maintains his ground that he did not know the age of the girl and that if he knew her age, he would not have met her since she was a child. Moreover the profile picture showed that the girl was an adult and that many people believed her to be an adult. She had even applied some make up to appear older on the eve of their date. The application of the make up was an intentional act that was revealed during police interview that the girl had used to dupe Mr. Cramer since she feared he might refuse the date as well as sexual activity if he knew her exact age. This shows that the girl is not innocent. Thus there was no intention of sexual exploitation of Ms. Bodic (R. Farnell-30). 7Australian Queensland legislation. Queensland Criminal Code. Macquarie Dictionary, second edition, 1989. 8R. (Farnell) V. Criminal Cases Rev. Commn., EWHC 835 (Admin.), 2003. Offence no. 4 Section 210, Indecent treatment of children under 16 (Qld 135-137) The mental element is that of planning to treat the child indecently. The physical element is that of treating the child in an indecent manner. Maximum penalty is five years for taking a child under 16 for an immoral purpose. Mr. Cramer exposes her to indecent treatment by discussing sexual matters including the fact that it has been a long time since either of them last engaged in sexual activities. Prior to their first date, the two discuss the possibility that their meeting may lead to sexual activities. Both are open to the idea but neither of them is dead set on that outcome and they agree to simply go with the flow and see what happens. Defense; (5) If the illegal act is alleged to have been committed in respect of a child of or above the age of 12 years, since Ms. Bodic is above 12 years, it will be a defense to prove that Mr. Creamer believed, on reasonable grounds, Ms. Bodic was of or above 16 years (Qld 138). Mr. Cramer did that he did not know the age since there was no provision of it or any information that could even give a clue of the age of the girl. He further defends himself that if he knew he would not have met the girl since she was a child. In addition to this the profile pictures of the girl showed her as an adult and that many people believed her to be an adult. Lastly on the prime day of their coffee date the girl had intentionally applied had some make up to appear older than she really was. This blindfolded Mr. Cramer. 9Australian Queensland legislation. Queensland Criminal Code. Macquarie Dictionary, second edition, 1989. On the other had the girl says that she has stayed without sexual encounters as revealed in their talk with Mr. Cramer ‘it „has been a long time‟ since either of them last engaged in sexual activities’. Thus Ms. Bodic might have been used to tricking men. Also the fact that she had stayed for a while without sexual encounters could have driven her to do anything in her might to secure herself a man for sex. Knowledge of age immaterial Section 247 (1) States that “this section applies to an offence against this part committed in relation to a person under a stated age” (Qld 133). Sub section (2) of section 247 states that “It is immaterial that the person charged with the offence did not know the person was under the age, or believed the person was not under the age” (Qld 133). However, from what were are told about Mr. Cramer, he is genuine when he tells the police that he did not know her age. He states that he would not have met her had he known that she was underage. It is also stated that he is liked by his colleagues. Being a teacher, there is a possibility that he deals with students of the same age as Ms. Bodic. And these students like him. Therefore one would not be misplaced to say that he is an honest man. It is crystal clear that he did not know the age of Ms. Bodic or did not believe that she could be an underage (Darwin, Courts library, 17). 10Australian Queensland legislation. Queensland Criminal Code. Macquarie Dictionary, second edition, 1989. Conclusion Mr. Cramer does not warrant for his case to be considered as an offense. As found he has a good rapport with his students which supports that he is a genuine man. Still the profile picture made Ms. Bodic look older, a matter that confused many people including Mr. Cramer. There was consent of the two and the girl is mentally normal hence she was aware of every undertaking that she was involved in. Works Cited Australian Queensland legislation. Queensland Criminal Code. Macquarie Dictionary, second edition, 1989. Darwin, Courts library. Supreme Court of the Northern territory of Australian. Supreme Court judgments, 2009. R. (Farnell) V. Criminal Cases Rev. Commn., EWHC 835 (Admin.), 2003. R. v. Advertising Standards Auth. Ltd., ex p. Vernons Organisation Ltd., applied, 1992. R. v. Taylor. Criminal Appeal Office Index, Archbold, Criminal Pleading, Evidence & Practice, 1993. Read More