Sexual Offence Charges

WHAT ARE SEXUAL OFFENCES?

Sexual offences are treated with absolute severity under Queensland law, and every single one carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment if you’re found guilty. For some offences, that maximum penalty is life imprisonment — the harshest sentence available in Queensland. These penalties aren’t symbolic — they reflect how seriously the criminal justice system treats these charges, and how devastating a conviction will be for your future.

If you’ve been charged with a sexual offence in Queensland, you need expert legal advice immediately. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Right now. Whether you’re under investigation, have been charged, or believe charges are coming, every moment without proper legal representation weakens your position and puts your freedom at greater risk.

Hannay Lawyers has offices in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, and we’re available around the clock to provide urgent legal advice. Our criminal defence team has extensive experience defending clients facing sexual offence charges in Queensland’s courts — and we understand the stakes, the complexities, and the strategies needed to protect your rights and fight for the best possible outcome.

Understanding Sexual Offences in Queensland

Sexual offences represent one of the broadest and most serious categories of criminal law in Queensland. These offences are largely governed by Chapter 32 of the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld), which sets out detailed definitions, elements, and penalties for a wide range of sexual conduct that the law deems criminal.

Queensland courts treat sexual offence charges with exceptional seriousness. Sentences for these offences invariably involve imprisonment, and in many cases, lengthy terms of actual custody. The prosecution pursues these charges aggressively, often relying on complainant testimony, forensic evidence, digital communications, and expert reports to build their case against you.

The time to get legal advice is not after you’ve been formally charged — it’s the moment you believe you may be under investigation. Police interviews, witness statements, forensic examinations, and digital evidence gathering all happen before charges are laid, and everything that occurs during this investigative phase can determine the outcome of your case.

The Range of Sexual Offences in Queensland

Sexual offences in Queensland cover an extremely broad range of conduct, from alleged non-consensual sexual contact to offences involving children, offences involving digital material, and offences involving exploitation or abuse of vulnerable individuals. The Criminal Code defines these offences with specific legal elements that the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt.

Many sexual offence charges involve multiple counts or different offences charged together, which can compound the severity of the allegations and the potential penalties you’re facing. Understanding exactly what you’ve been charged with, what the prosecution must prove, and what defences may be available is critical — and it requires expert legal knowledge of Queensland’s criminal law.

Rape

Rape is one of the most serious sexual offences under Queensland law. Section 349 of the Criminal Code defines rape as non-consensual penile penetration of the vagina, vulva, or anus of another person. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, or 14 years imprisonment if the circumstances of aggravation do not apply.

Consent is the central issue in most rape prosecutions. Under Queensland law, consent must be freely and voluntarily given, and a person does not consent if they submit because of force, fear, fraud, or if they are unconscious, asleep, substantially intoxicated, or unable to understand the nature of the act. The prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the complainant did not consent and that you knew or were reckless as to whether they consented.

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault under section 352 involves unlawfully and indecently assaulting another person, or procuring another person without their consent to commit an act of gross indecency. This offence captures a wide range of non-consensual sexual touching or conduct that falls short of rape. The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment, or 14 years if circumstances of aggravation apply (such as the complainant being under 16, or you being in company with others).

The definition of “indecent” depends on community standards — conduct is indecent if right-thinking members of the community would consider it contrary to accepted standards of decency. This can include unwanted touching of breasts, genitals, or buttocks, forced kissing, or other sexual contact without consent.

Offences Against Children

Queensland law treats sexual offences against children with extreme severity, reflecting the vulnerability of child complainants and the harm caused by sexual abuse. Several offences specifically target conduct involving children.

Section 215 creates the offence of carnal knowledge of a child under 16, which involves any form of sexual penetration (penile, digital, or with an object) of a child under the age of 16. This offence carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment, or life imprisonment if the child is under 12. Consent is not a defence — the law treats children as incapable of consenting to sexual activity.

Section 210 creates offences related to indecent treatment of children under 16. This includes any indecent touching, exposure, or indecent act involving a child, even if the child appeared willing. The maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment, and the offence captures a broad range of conduct from inappropriate touching to exposing a child to sexual acts or material in person.

Maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under section 229B applies when a person maintains an unlawful sexual relationship with a child under 16 over a period of time. This offence recognises patterns of ongoing abuse and carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.

Grooming offences under section 218A target preparatory conduct — where an adult communicates with a child under 16 with the intent to facilitate or procure the child’s involvement in a sexual offence. This can include online communications, gift-giving, or other conduct designed to build trust and prepare a child for sexual abuse. The maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment.

Child Exploitation Material Offences

Possessing, distributing, or producing child exploitation material is a serious criminal offence under sections 228A to 228D of the Criminal Code. These offences carry maximum penalties ranging from 14 to 20 years imprisonment, depending on the nature of the conduct and the material involved.

Possession of child exploitation material under section 228A applies if you knowingly possess material that depicts a child under 16 engaged in sexual activity or depicted in a sexual manner. The offence applies regardless of how the material was obtained, how long you’ve possessed it, or whether you intended to distribute it.

Distribution or making available child exploitation material under section 228B carries even more serious penalties, particularly if the distribution was for commercial purposes or involved a large volume of material.

Production of child exploitation material under section 228D applies to creating, recording, or facilitating the creation of such material, and carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.

These charges often arise from police operations targeting online file-sharing networks, investigations into electronic devices, or tips from overseas law enforcement agencies. The volume of material, the ages depicted, the nature of the conduct shown, and whether there was distribution or production are all factors that influence charging decisions and sentencing outcomes.

Other Sexual Offences

Queensland’s Criminal Code includes numerous other sexual offences that can be charged depending on the circumstances. These include:

Observations or recordings in breach of privacy under section 227A, which criminalises secretly observing or recording another person in circumstances where they would reasonably expect privacy, such as in bathrooms, bedrooms, or change rooms. This includes “up-skirting” or other surreptitious recordings. The maximum penalty is 3 years imprisonment.

Distributing intimate images without consent under section 223, which applies when a person distributes an intimate image of another person without their consent and in a way that would cause distress. This includes “revenge porn” and other non-consensual distribution of private sexual images. The maximum penalty is 3 years imprisonment.

Procuring sexual acts by coercion or fraud under section 218, which criminalises using threats, intimidation, or deceptive conduct to procure another person to engage in sexual activity. The maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment.

Incest under section 222 prohibits sexual penetration between close family members, including parent and child, siblings, or other specified relationships. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and applies regardless of whether both parties appear willing.

Sexual offences involving people with impaired capacity under section 216 recognise that individuals with cognitive or intellectual impairments may be unable to give informed consent to sexual activity. Taking advantage of such impairment is a serious criminal offence.

Will You Go to Jail?

This is the question every person charged with a sexual offence in Queensland asks, and it’s impossible to answer without understanding the specific circumstances of your case, the strength of the prosecution’s evidence, your criminal history, and the available defences.

What we can tell you is this: sexual offence charges in Queensland almost always result in imprisonment if you’re convicted, particularly for serious offences like rape, child sexual abuse, or offences involving violence or breach of trust. Courts take these matters extremely seriously, and sentences routinely involve immediate custody, lengthy parole periods, and mandatory registration on the sex offender register.

But a charge is not a conviction. The prosecution must prove every element of the offence beyond reasonable doubt, and there are often significant weaknesses in their case — inconsistencies in complainant testimony, lack of corroborating evidence, problems with identification, issues with consent evidence, or procedural errors in how evidence was obtained.

What we also know is that these charges become more serious and harder to defend the longer you delay seeking legal help. Evidence gets locked in. Witnesses solidify their versions of events. Police finalize their investigation without your side of the story being properly presented. And by the time you finally get a lawyer involved, critical opportunities to challenge the case against you may have already been lost.

Why Immediate Legal Representation is Critical

Sexual offence investigations in Queensland are complex, intensive, and designed to build the strongest possible case against you. Police will interview the complainant multiple times, often using specialist interviewers trained in questioning about sexual matters. They’ll seize your phone, computer, and other electronic devices and conduct detailed forensic examinations looking for messages, images, browsing history, or any other digital evidence that can be used against you.

They’ll interview witnesses, obtain medical evidence, collect forensic samples, and build a timeline of events. They’ll conduct formal recorded interviews with you — and everything you say will be analysed, cross-referenced with other evidence, and used to support the charges against you.

This is why you need Hannay Lawyers involved immediately. We ensure that every step of the investigation is conducted lawfully and that your rights are protected throughout. We attend police interviews with you, advise you on whether to answer questions or exercise your right to silence, and make sure that police don’t overstep their powers or obtain evidence improperly.

We also begin building your defence from day one. That means conducting our own investigations, gathering evidence that supports your version of events, identifying weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, obtaining expert reports where needed, and preparing a comprehensive defence strategy long before the matter reaches court.

Effective criminal defence in sexual offence cases isn’t about reacting to what the prosecution does — it’s about taking control of your case early and fighting from a position of strength.

Defences Available in Queensland

Queensland law provides several defences to sexual offence charges, depending on the circumstances of your case. These defences can result in a complete acquittal if successfully argued, but they require expert legal knowledge, strategic presentation, and often detailed evidence to support them.

Consent

For adult sexual offences like rape and sexual assault, consent is often the central issue. If the prosecution cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt that the complainant did not consent, or that you knew or were reckless as to whether they consented, you must be acquitted.

Consent must be genuine, freely given, and informed. Hannay Lawyers will examine every aspect of the complainant’s evidence about consent — including their actions before, during, and after the alleged offence, any communications between you and the complainant, and whether there’s evidence supporting that consent was given.

Queensland law also recognises that a mistaken but honest and reasonable belief in consent can be a defence. If you genuinely believed the other person was consenting, and that belief was reasonable in all the circumstances, you cannot be convicted.

Honest and Reasonable Mistake of Fact

For some sexual offences, particularly those involving age, you may have a defence if you made an honest and reasonable mistake about a relevant fact. For example, if you’re charged with an offence involving a child, and you honestly and reasonably believed the person was over 16 based on their appearance, representations they made, or other circumstances, this may provide a defence.

This defence is not available for all child sexual offences, and its application depends on the specific charge and circumstances. But where it does apply, it can be a complete answer to the charges.

Accident

Under section 23 of the Criminal Code, you’re not criminally responsible for an act that occurs by accident — meaning you were doing a lawful act in a lawful way with proper care, and the event occurred without your intention or foresight. This defence can apply in rare circumstances where alleged sexual contact was genuinely accidental.

Duress

Section 31 provides a defence of duress if you committed the act only because of threats of immediate death or grievous bodily harm, and you reasonably believed those threats would be carried out. This defence is rarely applicable to sexual offences but may arise in very unusual circumstances.

Challenging the Prosecution’s Evidence

Even where no formal defence applies, there are often significant opportunities to challenge the prosecution’s case. This can include:

Exposing inconsistencies or implausibilities in the complainant’s evidence through skilled cross-examination, highlighting motive to fabricate or exaggerate, demonstrating that the complainant’s version of events is inconsistent with physical evidence or other witnesses, challenging forensic evidence or expert opinions, arguing that digital evidence has been misinterpreted or taken out of context, and showing that police failed to investigate alternative explanations or exculpatory evidence.

Queensland’s criminal justice system operates on the presumption of innocence — the prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. If there’s any reasonable doubt about whether you committed the offence, you must be acquitted. Creating that doubt through effective cross-examination, presentation of defence evidence, and strategic legal argument is what experienced criminal defence lawyers do.

How These Cases Are Prosecuted in Queensland

Sexual offence prosecutions in Queensland are handled by specialist prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). These prosecutors are experienced, well-resourced, and pursue these cases aggressively.

Most sexual offence matters are dealt with in the District Court of Queensland, though some less serious matters may be heard in the Magistrates Court and the most serious matters (like murder with a sexual element) may be heard in the Supreme Court.

For indictable offences prosecuted in the District Court, you’ll first appear in the Magistrates Court for committal proceedings. At this stage, the prosecution must demonstrate there’s sufficient evidence to justify sending the matter to trial. Hannay Lawyers uses committal proceedings strategically — to test the strength of the prosecution’s evidence, cross-examine key witnesses (including the complainant in some cases), and identify weaknesses in their case before trial.

If the matter proceeds to trial in the District Court, it will be heard before a judge and jury. The prosecution presents their evidence first, including the complainant’s testimony, any supporting witnesses, forensic evidence, and expert reports. Your defence team then has the opportunity to cross-examine prosecution witnesses, present defence evidence, and make closing submissions to the jury.

The jury must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of your guilt before they can convict. If there’s any reasonable doubt, they must find you not guilty.

Sentencing for Sexual Offences in Queensland

If you’re convicted of a sexual offence in Queensland, the sentencing consequences are severe. Imprisonment is almost always imposed for serious sexual offences, and sentences can range from several years to life imprisonment depending on the offence, the circumstances, your criminal history, and aggravating or mitigating factors.

Courts consider factors like the use of violence or threats, breach of trust (such as offences committed by family members, teachers, or authority figures), the vulnerability of the victim, the impact on the victim, whether you showed remorse, your prospects of rehabilitation, and whether you entered an early guilty plea.

In addition to imprisonment, you’ll almost certainly be required to register on the sex offender register under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Orders) Act 2004 (Qld). Registration requirements can last for 8 years, 15 years, or life depending on the offence and sentence imposed. Registration means you must report your personal details, movements, and activities to police regularly, and you’re subject to ongoing monitoring and restrictions.

Courts can also impose serious violent offence declarations, dangerous prisoner declarations, or supervision orders that extend your sentence or subject you to ongoing controls after release.

Hannay Lawyers works closely with our clients to present the strongest possible case for mitigation at sentencing — including character references, psychological reports, evidence of rehabilitation, and detailed submissions about your personal circumstances. While we can’t guarantee outcomes, we know how to construct sentencing submissions that give you the best possible chance of a more lenient sentence.

But sentencing is the last resort. Our primary goal is to defend you at trial and fight for an acquittal.

Why You Need Hannay Lawyers

Sexual offence charges are among the most serious, complex, and high-stakes matters in Queensland’s criminal justice system. You’re not just facing the possibility of years in prison — you’re facing lifelong consequences including sex offender registration, social stigma, employment restrictions, relationship breakdowns, and the permanent destruction of your reputation.

You need a legal team that understands how these cases work, how to challenge the prosecution’s evidence, how to construct compelling defences, and how to fight for you at every stage.

Hannay Lawyers has defended clients facing sexual offence charges in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast, and throughout Queensland. We’ve successfully defended clients in District Court trials, secured acquittals where the prosecution’s case fell apart under scrutiny, and achieved outcomes that gave our clients their freedom and their futures back.

We operate with urgency, professionalism, and absolute commitment to protecting your rights. We’re available 24/7 to take your call, and we can provide legal advice within hours of you contacting us, whether you’re in custody, under investigation, or have just been charged.

Contact Hannay Lawyers Today

Don’t wait. Don’t try to handle this yourself. Don’t assume the truth will come out on its own — it won’t. The only thing that protects you in a sexual offence investigation or prosecution is immediate, expert legal representation.