Prosecution for sexual offence against child to proceed as no serious prejudice found

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by a young person, who was charged with engaging in sexual activity with a 12-year-old when he himself was 15, against the High Court's refusal to prohibit his prosecution. The appellant sought declarations that the relevant statutory offence was unconstitutional and that the law should allow for a defence where he reasonably believed the complainant was older. The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s findings that, despite delays in prosecution, there was no serious prejudice outweighing the strong public interest in prosecuting serious sexual offences against children. The judgment also upheld the interpretation that the statutory defence of reasonable belief as to age only applies in certain circumstances, which the appellant did not meet, and confirmed that it is not for the courts to rewrite legislation to expand defences beyond what was clearly intended by the legislature. Applications to introduce fresh evidence of psychological harm were also refused.