Key Facts
- •The appellant, an Italian national with pre-settled UK status, was charged with sexual offences committed in Italy between 2007 and 2010 against a young girl.
- •He pleaded guilty to four offences under section 25 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
- •The appeal challenges the court's jurisdiction based on the Italian law of limitations, which barred prosecution in Italy at the time of the UK charges.
- •The prosecution relied on section 72(3) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
- •Expert evidence from Professor Gatta confirmed that the offences were time-barred under Italian law.
Legal Principles
Section 72(3) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 determines jurisdiction for sexual offences committed abroad.
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The focus of section 72(3) is on whether the act was a crime under foreign law at the time it was committed, not whether prosecution is still possible in the foreign country.
Court's interpretation of Sexual Offences Act 2003
The operation of a time bar in a foreign country does not deprive UK courts of jurisdiction if the act was a crime under that country's law at the time of commission.
Court's interpretation of Sexual Offences Act 2003
Fresh evidence under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 can be admitted.
Criminal Appeal Act 1968
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
The court interpreted section 72(3) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 as focusing on the criminality of the act at the time of commission, not on whether prosecution was time-barred in the foreign country.