Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017

PART 8

Miscellaneous

Exposure, offensive conduct of sexual nature

45. (1) A person who exposes his or her genitals intending to cause fear, distress or alarm to another person is guilty of an offence.

(2) A person who, in a public place, engages in—

(a) sexual intercourse,

(b) an act of buggery, or

(c) an act of masturbation,

is guilty of an offence.

(3) A person who intentionally engages in offensive conduct of a sexual nature is guilty of an offence.

(4) Where a member of the Garda Síochána, with reasonable cause, suspects that a person is committing or has committed an offence under this section, the member may arrest such person without warrant.

(5) A person found guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class D fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a class C fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or both.

(6) In this section—

“offensive conduct of a sexual nature” means any behaviour of a sexual nature which, having regard to all the circumstances, is likely to cause fear, distress or alarm to any person who is, or might reasonably be expected to be, aware of any such behaviour;

“public place” means any place to which the public have access whether as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge;

“sexual intercourse” shall be construed in accordance with section 1 (2) of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 .