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Similarly by section 11 a householder, etc., permitting the defilement of a girl on his premises
(a) if the girl is under 12, is guilty of felony; and
(b) if the girl is 12 or over and under 16, is guilty of a misdemeanour.
In each case the corresponding provision of the Criminal Law Amendment Acts in England and of legislation in other parts of the Empire has now fixed the lower age at 13.
The proposed amendments which substitute "thirteen' for "twelve" in the above three sections thus secure uniformity.
3. The new section 5 is otherwise a re-enactment of the old section, but omitting the second proviso, and allowing prosecution for an offence against the section to be instituted up to twelve (instead of three) months from the date of such offence. These amendments to the law at Home were made by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1922, and other similar Acts.
4. Similarly the effect of the amendment of section 7 is to raise the age of consent in indecent assault cases from thirteen to sixteen, as was also the effect of a provision of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1922.
5. In section 11 also the final proviso is repealed, the corresponding proviso in the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 having been repealed by the Act of 1922.
May, 1934.
R. E. LINDSELL,
Attorney General.
Page 5Page 6
(C.S.O.1/3395/33).
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