R v Jheeta [2007] EWCA Crim 1699

Court of Appeal

Facts: The defendant, posing as a police officer, sent a series of text messages to the complainant, persuading her to engage in sexual activity. He fabricated a story that he was at risk of committing suicide and that she would be fined if she did not comply. The complainant, under the belief that she was preventing a dire outcome, consented to the sexual acts.

Held: The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, ruling that although the deception did not fall under Section 76 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (which pertains to deception about the nature or purpose of the act), it was still significant in assessing the validity of consent under Section 74. The complainant’s consent was not informed due to the misleading circumstances, impacting its validity.

Key Quote: The Court observed that "the deception did not concern the 'nature or purpose' of the sexual acts under s.76 but still questioned whether C’s consent was valid under s.74."

💡Levelup: This case underscored the limitations of Section 76 and emphasized the broader implications of deceit on the validity of consent, focusing on how non-nature/purpose deceptions can still affect consent.