{"id":5877,"date":"2018-03-07T09:26:59","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T09:26:59","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2019-06-28T11:44:21","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T11:44:21","slug":"r-v-grewal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lawteacher.net\/cases\/r-v-grewal.php","title":{"rendered":"R v Grewal – 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

R v Grewal [2010] EWCA Crim 2448<\/strong><\/p>\n

Attempted Rape \u2013 Intoxication \u2013 Consent \u2013 s1(2) Sexual Offences Act 2003<\/strong> \u2013 Reasonable Belief \u2013 Voluntary Intoxication Does Not Negate Mens Rea Principle<\/p>\n

Facts<\/h3>\n

At the time of the incident, the defendant was a student who had become drunk after drinking too many free cocktails at a birthday party. After visiting a nightclub, he returned to halls of residence with the complainant. They were alone together in a bedroom when the defendant tried to engage in sexual activity with the complainant. The complainant cried out for help and a friend intervened. During the incident, the defendant claimed he could not remember the acts that took place. The defendant was charged with attempted rape under s1 Sexual Offences Act 2003<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Issues<\/h3>\n

The defendant was convicted of sexual assault and appealed. The Court of Appeal was to consider the direction of the trial judge and whether it was correct. There had been a distinction by the judge between the defendant\u2019s honest belief to consent, which had taken into account his intoxication and whether this belief was reasonable.<\/p>\n

Decision\/Outcome<\/h3>\n

The Court of Appeal stated that voluntary intoxication should not be considered as a \u2018circumstance\u2019 for assessing whether a belief is reasonable under s1(2) Sexual Offences Act 2003<\/strong>. The Court stated that when deciding whether the defendant reasonably believed the complainant consented, \u2018one has to look at the matter as if he were sober\u2019 [30]<\/strong>. This case established the principle that voluntary intoxication does not negate mens rea for rape and it should not be taken into consideration when looking at reasonableness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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