(Trinidad Express) It is now official.
Anal intercourse between two consenting adults is no longer a criminal offence – at least for now.
And those who wish to also engage in acts of serious indecency in private are free to do so without any legal consequences.
The High Court in Port of Spain yesterday modified sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act, making it legal for consenting adults to engage in such activities. The ruling of Justice Davindra Rampersad was the culmination of months of intense legal debate between attorneys for the State and Trinidad-born gay rights activist Jason Jones over the acts being punishable by imprisonment.
Justice Rampersad delivered the ruling at the Hall of Justice on Wednesday morning, six months after he found in April of this year, that the Constitutional rights of those who wished to engage in anal sex and serious indecency in private were being infringed.
Previously, it was illegal for adults to engage in such activities even if consent was given. With Wednesday’s ruling, there is no longer the chance of criminal sanctions being imposed. However, there is the possibility that the judge’s ruling may be over turned since the State has indicated its intention to appeal the matter all the way to the Privy Council.
If no consent is given, then the offences still remain illegal.
In delivering the ruling, Justice Rampersad said he took the decision to not strike out the sections of law in its entirety since he believed that by doing so he would have “created a window for further litigation.”
Jones, nor his supporters were in court for the delivery of the ruling. Only a small group if individuals from religious bodies were present.
As it now stands, Justice Rampersad modified section 13 to read:
“13. (1) A person who commits the offence of buggery is liable on conviction to imprisonment for twenty-five years.
(2) In this section buggery means sexual intercourse without consent per anum by a male person with a male person or a male person with a female person.
Section 16 was modified to read:
16. (1) A person who commits an act of serious indecency on or towards another is liable on conviction to imprisonment for five years.
