Under Section 316A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), it is an offence to conceal a child abuse offence. A person commits this offence if they know, believe, or reasonably should know that a child abuse offence has occurred, possess information that could assist in apprehending, prosecuting or convicting the offender, and fail to report it as soon as practicable.

Elements

To establish this offence, the prosecution must prove that:

• The person knew, believed, or reasonably should have known that a child abuse offence had been committed.
• The person knew, believed, or reasonably should have known that the information could materially assist in apprehending, prosecuting or convicting the offender,
• The person fails without a reasonable excuse to bring that information to the attention of a member of the NSW Police Force as soon as it is practicable to do so.

Penalties

The maximum penalty for concealing a child abuse offence is 2 years imprisonment if the maximum penalty for the child abuse offence is less than 5 years imprisonment, or the maximum penalty is 5 years imprisonment if the maximum penalty for the child abuse offence is 5 years imprisonment or more.

A person who solicits, accepts or agrees to accept any benefit for the person or any other person in consideration for doing anything, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 5 years if the maximum penalty for the child abuse offence is less than 5 years imprisonment, or 7 years if the maximum penalty for the child abuse offence is 5 years imprisonment or more.

Possible Defences

A person will not be guilty if they had a reasonable excuse for not reporting, which may include:

• The person believes on reasonable grounds that the information is already known to the police.
• The person reasonably believes that another person has already made a report.
• The person has reasonable grounds to fear for the safety of the person or any other person (other than the offender) if the information were to be reported to the police.
• The information was obtained by the person when the person was under the age of 18 years.
• The alleged victim was an adult at the time that the information was obtained by the person, and the person believes on reasonable grounds that the alleged victim does not wish the information to be reported to police.

About Post Author

Brian Walker

B.Acc., GradDipLegPrac, Juris Dr
Barrister & Accountant.
Former Criminal Defence Solicitor. Former Federal Prosecutor for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecuting Commonwealth crimes relating to drugs and child exploitation. Former Australian Federal Police member litigating proceeds of crime matters. Former Australian Taxation Office employee investigating offshore tax evasion matters.

Post Created by Jesslyn Duong, paralegal.

See author's posts