In January 2023, the Criminal Law Reform Now Network (CLRNN) published a report recommending a new offence, ‘Inducing a person to engage in sexual activity by deception’, to be added to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 ( SOA ). This article critically analyses the proposed offence, specifically its actus reus, mens rea, and reasonable excuse defence. It also explores the fair labelling implications of the offence and advances three novel claims to guide SOA reform on deceptive sexual relations. First, if deceptive sexual relations are to be criminalised separately from the principal sexual offences, the legal framework for criminalising the former should mirror the latter. Second, the subject of D's deception – except for deceptions concerning the act's sexual nature – is morally immaterial in assessing the severity of D's wrongdoing. Third, a prima facie distinction exists between lying and misleading as methods of deceiving V in sexual activity, with the former constituting a greater wrong than the latter.
Francesco Florimonte (Mon,) studied this question.