hsenting men over 21. The offenders were each sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for one year. Clearly the courts are reluctant to pass the maximum sentences available for acts committed in private between consenting adults. The penalty of life imprisonment is normally imposed only for the most serious offences against the person such as rape or murder. The maximum penalties provided for homosexual behaviour seem unduly high for acts which take place between consenting adults in private. It would seem reasonable for the law, and the penalties which it provides, to distinguish clearly between the worst example of assaults against the person and acts committed with consent.
40. If Option 3 (reduction of the penalties for homosexual acts in private between consenting adults) were to be adopted it is suggested that the maximum penalty for an act of buggery committed in private between two consenting men over 21 should be reduced from life imprisonment to a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for one year; the maximum penalty for an act of gross indecency under such circumstances should be reduced from imprisonment for two years to a fine of $2,000 and imprisonment for three months.
Limits to change
41. If Option 2 were adopted, a homosexual act in private between two adults would not be an offence but in all other circumstances homosexual acts would continue to be offences. For example, if the act took place with a person under the age of 21, or without consent, or in a public place, then it would remain criminal. The act would not be private if more than two persons were present; nor would it be in private if committed, for example, in a public toilet or bathhouse.
(i) Offences to be retained
42. If an act of homosexual buggery were committed without consent or by or with a man under 21, it was proposed by the Law Reform Commission that the maximum penalty of life imprisonment should remain. It is also proposed that an act of buggery between consenting adult men committed other than in private should continue to be an offence. It is however suggested that the maximum penalty for such an act should reflect the fact that it was committed with the consent of both parties. A maximum penalty of imprisonment for 5 years is proposed. A man who indecently touches a boy under the age of 16 will continue to be subject to a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment for indecent assault. For an act of homosexual gross indecency (not amounting to an indecent assault) with a child under the age of 14 the existing penalty is 5 years' imprisonment. It is proposed to extend the age limit to protect those up to the age of 16. For an act of homosexual gross indecency by or with a man over 14 (or 16 if the law is changed) and under 21, the existing penalty of imprisonment for two years would appear to be adequate. A full list of the circumstances where the law should not be changed is at Appendix A.
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