Crime CV – s.47 of the Offences Against Person Act (1861) II

The mens rea (mental element) for a s.47 offence is either -

1.     Intention

or

2.     Recklessness

The test to determine whether the defendant intended to cause the victim some harm or was reckless as to whether some harm was caused or not is objective and the defendant need not foresee the consequences of his actions. It suffices that the injuries that resulted were a natural and probable consequence of the defendant’s actions.

In R v Roberts (1971) the defendant and the victim met at a party. Once the party was over the defendant offered to give the victim a lift in his car which the victim accepted and while they were on the road the defendant made sexual advances at the victim which the victim spurned or rejected. When the defendant did not stop the victim jumped out of the moving car and sustained cuts, bruisers, and other minor injuries. The defendant was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and sexual assault. He was convicted for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and found not guilty of sexual assault. The defendant appealed on the grounds that he did not foresee or could not foresee the consequences of his actions or the victim’s reaction.

It was held that foresight of consequences is not a prerequisite to obtaining a conviction for a s.47 offence. It suffices that the victim’s reaction was a natural and probable consequence of the defendant’s actions.

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