Abduction

Question 1

Abduction

Section and Penalty

Answer 1

Section 208 (a) or (b) or (c) Crimes Act 1961

14 years imprisonment

Question 2

Abduction Ingredients

Answer 2

1) Unlawfully
2) Takes away or Detains
3) A Person

4) Without his or her consent
OR
With his or her consent obtained by fraud or duress

5) With Intent to:
a) marry him or her or
b) have sexual connection with him or her or
c) cause him or her to be married to or to have sexual connection with some other person

Question 3

Unlawfully

Answer 3

Without lawful justification, authority or excuse

Question 4

R v Crossan

Answer 4

Taking away and detaining are “separate and distinct offences. The first consists of taking the victim away. The second of detaining them.

Question 5

Takes Away

R v Wellard

Answer 5

The essence of the offence of kidnapping is the deprivation of liberty coupled with carrying away from the place where the victim wants to be.

Question 6

Detaining

R v Pryce

Answer 6

Detaining is an active concept meaning to keep in confinement or custody. This is to be contrasted to the passive concept of harbouring or mere failure to hand over.

Question 7

Person

Answer 7

Gender neutral proven by judicial notice or circumstantial evidence.

Question 8

Consent

And

R v Cox

Answer 8

Consent is a persons conscious and voluntary agreement to something desired or proposed by another.

R v Cox

Consent must be full, voluntary, free and informed. Freely and voluntarily given by a person to form a rational judgement.

Question 9

To Obtain Consent by FRAUD

Answer 9

Consent obtained by the misrepresentation of the facts or the offenders intentions.

Question 10

To obtain consent by DURESS

Answer 10

Actual or implied threat of force to the victim or another person. Can include other forms of pressure or coercion.

Question 11

Child under 16

Answer 11

Section 209A Crimes Act 1961

For the purposes of S208 and S209, a person under the age of 16 years cannot consent to being taken away or detained.

Question 12

Intent

Answer 12

In a criminal law context there are two specific types of an intention in an offence. Firstly there must be an intention to commit the act and secondly an intention to get a specific result.

Question 13

R v Mohi

Answer 13

The offence is complete once there has been a period of detention or a taking accompanied by the necessary intent, regardless of whether that intent was carried out.

Question 14

R v Waaka

Answer 14

Intent may be formed at any time during the taking away. If a taking away commences without the intent to have intercourse, but that intent is formed during the taking away, then that is sufficient for the purposes of the section.

Question 15

a) Marry him or her

Answer 15

In this context, “to marry” means to engage in a marriage solemnised in accordance with the provisions of the Marriage Act 1955.

Question 16

b) Have Sexual Connection With Him or her

Answer 16

Sexual Connection - Sec 2 Crimes Act 1961

(a) connection effected by the introduction into the genitalia or anus of one person, otherwise than for genuine medical purposes, of-
(i) a part of the body of another person; or
(ii) an object held or manipulated by another person;
or
(b) connection between the mouth or tongue of one person and a part of another person’s genitalia or anus; or
(c) the continuation of connection of a kind described in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b).

Question 17

c) Cause to be married or have sexual connection with some other person:

Of note only

Answer 17

This relates to situations where the abductor takes away or detains a victim to enable another person to marry them.
OR
Under this provision, the offenders intent is to enable another person to have sexual connection with the victim.