Part 1—Sexual Offences
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
- (a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;
- (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.
71 Sexual activity in a public lavatory
(1) A person commits an offence if—
- (a) he is in a lavatory to which the public or a section of the public has or is permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise,
- (b) he intentionally engages in an activity, and,
- (c) the activity is sexual.
(2) For the purposes of this section, an activity is sexual if a reasonable person would, in all the circumstances but regardless of any person’s purpose, consider it to be sexual.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.
Offences outside the United Kingdom
72 Offences outside the United Kingdom
(1) Subject to subsection (2), any act done by a person in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom which—
- (a) constituted an offence under the law in force in that country or territory, and
- (b) would constitute a sexual offence to which this section applies if it had been done in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland,
constitutes that sexual offence under the law of that part of the United Kingdom.
(2) Proceedings by virtue of this section may be brought only against a person who was on 1st September 1997, or has since become, a British citizen or resident in the United Kingdom.
(3) An act punishable under the law in force in any country or territory constitutes an offence under that law for the purposes of this section, however it is described in that law.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), the condition in subsection (1)(a) is to be taken to be met unless, not later than rules of court may provide, the defendant serves on the prosecution a notice—
- (a) stating that, on the facts as alleged with respect to the act in question, the condition is not in his opinion met,
- (b) showing his grounds for that opinion, and
- (c) requiring the prosecution to prove that it is met.
(5) The court, if it thinks fit, may permit the defendant to require the prosecution to prove that the condition is met without service of a notice under subsection (4).
