The Law

Sexual assault (also known as sexual touching) and indecent assault are the same crime – the wording just changed on 1 March 2022. If the crime happened before the 1 March 2022 then the offence is called indecent assault, and if it happened after that date then it’s called sexual assault or sexual touching. Both are sexual assault crimes in Guernsey.

Guernsey does not have a time limit on reporting sexual assault/touching or indecent assault. For more information about reporting an assault, contact Victim Support or Guernsey Police.

What is it?

Sexual assault or sexual touching is when a person (A) intentionally touches another person (B), the touching is sexual, B has not given consent and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.

In other words…

If someone has intentionally touched you in a sexual manner without your consent, and without reasonably believing that you consent, then they have broken the law by committing a sexual assault.

What happens to someone guilty of sexual assault/ touching?

Sex Offenders Register:

If someone is charged and found guilty in court of a sexual assault/touching then from the date of their conviction they will always be named on The Sex Offenders Register for a minimum of five years* (you might also hear this referenced as being ordered to Notification Requirements).

*This time frame can be amended in exceptional circumstances

Anyone who is named on the Sex Offenders Register will be required to:

  • Notify the police of any change of name
  • Notify the police of any change of address
  • Notify the police if they stay at another address for 7 or more days in a 12-month period
  • Notify the police of any foreign travel
  • Attend the Police Station once a year (on the date they were given the order)
  • Provide fingerprints, DNA or photographs to the police on request
  • Provide their social security number and any other relevant information

They will also be subject to unannounced home visits by police officers.

Anyone cautioned with a sexual offence with also be ordered to Notification Requirements, but for a minimum of 2 years instead of 5 years.

Prison:

A person convicted of sexual assault/ touching up to 2 years in prison, and the Royal Court can sentence such a person to imprisonment of up to 10 years.

Fine:

A person who is convicted of sexual assault/touching can be ordered to pay a fine of up to £10,000 (you might hear this referred to as Level 5 on the Uniform Scale).

What is it?

It is important to know that, although sexual harassment is not a separate offence in Guernsey, it is illegal if it amounts to the criminal offence of harassment.

Harassment is generally understood to involve improper oppressive and unreasonable conduct that is targeted at an individual and calculated to cause alarm or distress.

This covers a very broad spectrum of what can amount to harassment and can include sexual harassment.

The law states that a person must not pursue a course of conduct which amounts to harassment of another and which he knows – or ought to know – amounts to harassment of another.

In other words…

Harassment can be anything where a person pursues a course of conduct (which can be as little as them having unwanted contact with you on two occasions) against another person that this person knows or ought to know amounts to harassment.

If someone has sexually harassed you – or harassed you in any way – then they have broken the law.

If, when committing the offence of harassment, someone also causes you to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against you, and they know or ought to know their course of conduct will cause you to be in fear on those occasions, then they have committed a more serious offence.

What happens to someone guilty of harassment?

Prison:

The Magistrate’s Court can sentence a person convicted of harassment to up to 12 months in prison, and the Royal Court can sentence such a person to imprisonment of up to 4 years.

If someone is found guilty of harassment which puts you in fear of violence, they could face up to 5 years in prison in the Royal Court.

Restraining Order:

A restraining order can be issued where someone has committed the crime of harassment or has caused another person to fear violence.

If the person has been convicted of the offence and you were the person who was harassed, the police will ask you about whether you would wish for the prosecution to apply for a restraining order.

A restraining order will place restrictions on the defendant (the person accused of the crime) which will vary depending on the circumstances.

If the defendant does anything which they are ordered not to do by the restraining order, then they can be sentenced to prison for up to 12 months (Magistrate’s Court), or up to 5 years (Royal Court).

Fine:

A person who is convicted of criminal harassment can be ordered to pay a fine of up to £10,000 (you might hear this referred to as Level 5 on the Uniform Scale).

Civil Remedy:

A person who is convicted of criminal harassment can be ordered to make a payment to the victim(s) of their crime.

What is it?

“Spiking” is the word we all think of when we think about someone putting something in someone else’s drink without them consenting (for example, because they did not know it had happened).

There are a number of different offences a person could commit if they do this and which offence it is will depend on what the intent of that person was.

One offence is administering a substance to a person (B), with intent, and without B consenting to it. This can include other ways of giving something to someone without their consent e.g. by injecting them with it. To be an offence this must done with the intention of stupefying or overpowering B to enable any person to engage in sexual activity with them.

This includes A causing a substance to be taken by B without their consent, provided it is done for the same reasons. This can include persuading someone else to administer the substance to B.

In other words…

This means for example that if someone puts something in someone else’s drink, such as a drug, which could cause them to lose control of themselves, and they do this to enable any person to engage in sexual activity with them – then they have broken the law.

What happens to someone guilty of drink spiking?

Prison:

The Magistrate’s Court can sentence a person convicted of this offence to up to 2 years in prison, and the Royal Court can sentence such a person to imprisonment of up to 10 years.

Fine:

A person who is convicted of this offence can be ordered to pay a fine of up to £10,000 (you might hear this referred to as Level 5 on the Uniform Scale).

Another offence a person might commit called maliciously administering poison as to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm (also known as GBH), does not rely on proving intent but rather what the consequences were to the person who was spiked. If a person unlawfully and maliciously adds a poison, such as a drug, to

What happens to someone found guilty of maliciously administering poison as to endanger life of inflict GBH?

There are a lot of variations of this crime depending on the circumstances and the intent (the reason why the defendant spiked the drink).

Intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm:

Prison:

If someone is found guilty of tampering with a drink in the Magistrate’s Court then they can be sentenced to up to 12 months in prison.

If someone is found guilty of tampering with a drink in the Royal Court then they can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

Fine:

A person who is convicted of this offence can be ordered to pay a fine of up to £10,000 in the Magistrates’ Court (you might hear this referred to as Level 5 on the Uniform Scale), or an unlimited fine in the Royal Court.