Legal Update - 6 February 2026
New offences have been inserted into the Sexual Offences Act 2003 from 6 February 2026, relating to creating (section 66E), or requesting the creation of (section 66F) and the inclusion/exclusion of a thing into (also section 66F), a purported intimate image of an adult without consent or reasonable belief in consent.
- SX03253 - Create purported intimate image of adult
- SX03254 - Request creation of purported intimate image of adult
- SX03255 - Request the inclusion / exclusion of a thing into a purported intimate image of adult
Section 66G sets out relevant definitions applying to those offences, and section 66H sets out an extended time limit that applies to the offences.
Section 79(5) of the 2003 Act is amended to exclude new sections 66E, 66F and 66G from the application of the general definition of an “image of a person” which otherwise applies for the purposes of Part 1 of that Act.
Schedule 3 to the Serious Crime Act 2007 is amended to include new section 66F of the 2003 Act as a ‘listed offence’, with the effect a person cannot be guilty under sections 45 or 46 of that Act of encouraging or assisting an offence under section 66F of the 2003 Act.
New section 154A of the Sentencing Act 2020 ensures that where a person commits an offence under section 66E of the 2003 Act, the courts have the power to make a deprivation order in respect of the image to which the offence relates, and anything containing it. Such an order could be used to deprive the offender of ownership of the image or anything containing the image, such as a mobile phone, laptop or hard drive.
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