Children and Young Persons Act 1933

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1933 c. 12


Children and Young Persons Act, 1933.

(23 & 24 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 12.

An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to persons under the age of eighteen years.

[13th April 1933]

B E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

I Prevention of Cruelty and Exposure to Moral and Physical Danger.

Part I.

Prevention of Cruelty and Exposure to Moraland Physical Danger.

Offences.

Offences.

S-1 Cruelty to persons under sixteen.

1 Cruelty to persons under sixteen.

(1) If any person who has attained the age of sixteen years and has the custody, charge, or care of any child or young person under that age, wilfully assaults, ill-treats, neglects, abandons, or exposes him, or causes or procures him to be assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned, or exposed, in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health (including injury to or loss of sight, or hearing, or limb, or organ of the body, and any mental derangement), that person shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable—

( a ) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or alternatively, or in default of payment of such a fine, or in addition thereto, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years;

( b ) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds, or alternatively, or in default of payment of such a fine, or in addition thereto, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.

(2) For the purposes of this section—

( a ) a parent or other person legally liable to maintain a child or young person shall be deemed to have neglected him in a manner likely to cause injury to his health if he has failed to provide adequate food, clothing, medical aid or lodging for him, or if, having been unable otherwise to provide such food, clothing, medical aid or lodging, he has failed to take steps to procure it to be provided under the Acts relating to the relief of the poor;

( b ) where it is proved that the death of an infant under three years of age was caused by suffocation (not being suffocation caused by disease or the presence of any foreign body in the throat or air passages of the infant) while the infant was in bed with some other person who has attained the age of sixteen years, that other person shall, if he was, when he went to bed, under the influence of drink, be deemed to have neglected the infant in a manner likely to cause injury to its health.

(3) A person may be convicted of an offence under this section—

( a ) notwithstanding that actual suffering or injury to health, or the likelihood of actual suffering or injury to health, was obviated by the action of another person;

( b ) notwithstanding the death of the child or young person in question.

(4) Upon the trial of any person who has attained the age of sixteen years and is indicted for infanticide or for the manslaughter of a child or young person under the age of sixteen years of whom he had the custody, charge, or care, it shall be lawful for the jury, if they are satisfied that he is guilty of an offence under this section to find him guilty of that offence.

(5) If it is proved that a person convicted under this section was directly or indirectly interested in any sum of money accruing or payable in the event of the death of the child or young person, and had knowledge that that sum of money was accruing or becoming payable, then—

( a ) in the case of a conviction on indictment, the maximum amount of the fine which may be imposed under this section shall be two hundred pounds, and the court shall have power, in lieu of awarding any other penalty under this section, to sentence the person convicted to penal servitude for any term not exceeding five years; and

( b ) in the case of a summary conviction, the court in determining the sentence to be awarded shall take into consideration the fact that the person was so interested and had such knowledge.

(6) For the purposes of the last foregoing subsection:—

( a ) a person shall be deemed to be directly or indirectly interested in a sum of money if he has any share in or any benefit from the payment of that money, notwithstanding that he may not be a person to whom it is legally payable; and

( b ) a copy of a policy of insurance, certified to be a true copy by an officer or agent of the insurance company granting the policy, shall be evidence that the child or young person therein stated to be insured has in fact been so insured, and that the person in whose favour the policy has been granted is the person to whom the money thereby insured is legally payable.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the right of any parent, teacher, or other person having the lawful control or charge of a child or young person to administer punishment to him.

S-2 Causing or encouraging seduction or prostitution of girl under sixteen.

2 Causing or encouraging seduction or prostitution of girl under sixteen.

(1) If any person having the custody, charge, or care of a girl under the age of sixteen years causes or encourages the seduction, unlawful carnal knowledge, or prostitution of, or the commission of an indecent assault upon, her, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years.

(2) For the purposes of this section a person shall be deemed to have caused or encouraged the seduction unlawful carnal knowledge, or prostitution of, or the commission of an indecent assault upon, a girl who has been seduced, unlawfully carnally known, or indecently assaulted, or who has become a prostitute, if he has knowingly allowed her to consort with, or to enter or continue in the employment of, any prostitute or person of known immoral character.

S-3 Allowing persons under sixteen to be in brothels.

3 Allowing persons under sixteen to be in brothels.

(1) If any person having the custody, charge or care of a child or yowling person who has attained the age of four years and is under the age of sixteen years, allows that child or young person to reside in or to frequent a brothel, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable on conviction on indictment, or on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds, or alternatively or in default of payment of such a fine, or in addition thereto, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.

(2) Nothing in this section shall affect the liability of a person to be indicted under section six of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 , but upon the trial of a person under that section it shall be lawful for the jury, if they are satisfied that he is guilty of an offence under this section, to find lump guilty of that offence.

S-4 Causing or allowing persons under sixteen to be used for begging.

4 Causing or allowing persons under sixteen to be used for begging.

(1) If any person causes or procures any child or young person under the age of sixteen years or, having the custody, charge, or care of such a child or young person, allows him to be in any street, premises, or place for the purpose of begging or receiving alms, or of inducing the giving of alms (whether or not there is any pretence of singing, playing, performing, offering anything for sale, or otherwise) he shall, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds, or alternatively, or in default of payment of such a fine, or in addition thereto, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months.

(2) If a person having the custody, charge, or care of a child or young person is charged with an offence under this section, and it is proved that the child or young person was in any street, premises, or place for any such purpose as aforesaid, and that the person charged allowed the child or young person to be in the street, premises, or place, he shall be presumed to have allowed him to be in the street, premises, or place for that purpose unless the contrary is proved.

(3) If any person while singing, playing, performing or offering anything for sale in a street or public place has with him a child who has been lent or hired out to him, the child shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be in that street or place for the purpose of inducing the giving of alms.

S-5 Giving intoxicating liquor to children under five.

5 Giving intoxicating liquor to children under five.

If any person gives, or causes to be given, to any child under the age of five years any intoxicating liquor, except upon the order of a duly qualified medical practitioner, or...

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