Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23]. When the General Laws Amendment Bill addressing this subject was brought to debate and discussion, especially during the Committee stages, some legislators put up a spirited fight to have the age placed at 18 years. Ultimately, a compromise was reached at 16 years. Where in our law do we get this position that the age of consent is 16 years? We get it from section 70 as read with section 61(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23]. These two provisions must, of necessity, be read together in order to derive the age of consent. Section 61(1) defines a “young person” as “a boy or girl under the age of 16 years”. Section 70 then makes it a criminal offence to have consensual sexual intercourse or performing indecent acts with a young person. But the offence is not that of rape. Rather, it is the lesser offence of having sexual intercourse or performing indecent acts with young persons. Section 70, in relevant part, provides as follows: “70 Sexual intercourse or performing indecent acts with young persons (1) Subject to subsection (2), any person who— (a) has extra-marital sexual intercourse with a young person; or (b) commits upon a young person any act involving physical contact that would be regarded by a reasonable person to be an indecent act; or (c) solicits or entices a young person to have extra-marital sexual intercourse with him or her or to commit any act with him or her involving physical contact that would be regarded by a reasonable person to be an indecent act; shall be guilty of sexual intercourse or performing an indecent act with a young person, as the case may be, and liable to a fine not exceeding level twelve or imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or both. (2) It shall be no defence to a charge of sexual intercourse or performing an indecent act with a young person to prove that he or she consented to such sexual intercourse or indecent act. (2a) Where extra-marital sexual intercourse or an indecent act occurs between young persons who are both over the age of twelve years but below the age of sixteen years at the time of the sexual intercourse or the indecent act, neither of them shall be charged with sexual intercourse or performing an indecent act with a young person except upon a report of a probation officer appointed in terms of the Children’s Act [Chapter 5:06] showing that it is appropriate to charge one of them with that crime. (3) It shall be a defence to a charge under subsection (1) for the accused person to satisfy the court that he or she had reasonable cause to believe that the young person concerned was of or over the age of sixteen years at the time of the alleged crime: Provided that the apparent physical maturity of the young person concerned shall not, on its own, constitute reasonable cause for the purposes of this subsection. …” 2