New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 73A

73A Sexual touching--young person between 16 and 18 under special care

(1) Any person who intentionally--

(a) sexually touches a young person under the person's special care, or

(b) incites a young person under the person's special care to sexually touch the person, or

(c) incites a young person under the person's special care to sexually touch another person, or

(d) incites another person to sexually touch a young person under the first person's special care,

is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--

(a) in the case of a young person who is of or above the age of 16 years and under the age of 17 years--imprisonment for 4 years, or

(b) in the case of a young person who is of or above the age of 17 years and under the age of 18 years--imprisonment for 2 years.

(2) A person does not commit an offence under this section if the person and the young person to whom the charge relates were, at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed, married to each other.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a young person (the
"complainant" ) is under the special care of another person (the
"accused person" ) if, and only if--

(a) the accused person is any of the following--

(i) the parent or the parent of a parent of the complainant,

(ii) the guardian or authorised carer of the complainant,

(iii) the spouse or de facto partner of a person referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii), or

(b) the accused person is a teacher at, or the principal or a deputy principal of, the school at which the complainant is a student, or

(b1) the accused person performs work at the school at which the complainant is a student, in which the accused person has students at the school, including the complainant, under the authority of the accused person, or

(c) the accused person has an established personal relationship with the complainant in connection with the provision of religious, sporting, musical or other instruction to the complainant, in which relationship the complainant is under the authority of the accused person, or

(d) the accused person is a custodial officer of an institution of which the complainant is an inmate, or

(e) the accused person is a health professional and the complainant is a patient of the health professional, or

(f) the accused person--

(i) performs work for an organisation that provides residential care to young persons placed in out-of-home care (within the meaning of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 ), and

(ii) has an established personal relationship with the complainant in connection with the provision of that residential care to the complainant, in which relationship the complainant is under the authority of the accused person, or

(g) the accused person--

(i) performs work for an organisation that provides refuge or crisis accommodation, and

(ii) has an established personal relationship with the complainant in connection with the provision of that accommodation to the complainant, in which relationship the complainant is under the authority of the accused person.