What is "sexual" for the purposes of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009? Motive may actually be relevant after all, but should it be? The Appeal Court's decision in the appeal from the Sheriff Appeal Court in Kennedy v PF, Aberdeen

Graeme Brown

What is "sexual" for the purposes of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009? Motive may actually be relevant after all, but should it be? The Appeal Court's decision in the appeal from the Sheriff Appeal Court in Kennedy v PF, Aberdeen

Law

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Discusses Kennedy v Procurator Fiscal, Aberdeen (HCJ Appeal) which examined the relevance of an accused's motive when determining whether an act was "sexual" within the meaning of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 s.60(2) in the context of a male stripper's touching of, and physical contact with, audience members who had not consented. Argues that the court has unnecessarily complicated the law by introducing elements of the English test.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2 - 6
Number of pages	5
Journal	Greens Criminal Law Bulletin
Issue number	193
Early online date	31 Dec 2025
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 31 Dec 2025

Keywords

Consent
Entertainment
Intention
Mens rea
Performers
Scotland
Sexual assault
Sexual behaviour
Statutory interpretation

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Brown, G. (Accepted/In press). What is "sexual" for the purposes of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009? Motive may actually be relevant after all, but should it be? The Appeal Court's decision in the appeal from the Sheriff Appeal Court in Kennedy v PF, Aberdeen. Greens Criminal Law Bulletin, (193), 2 - 6. Advance online publication. https://uk.westlaw.com/Document/I250DC910EA6D11EFB089E35440C351B5/View/FullText.html

What is "sexual" for the purposes of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009? Motive may actually be relevant after all, but should it be? The Appeal Court's decision in the appeal from the Sheriff Appeal Court in Kennedy v PF, Aberdeen. / Brown, Graeme.
In: Greens Criminal Law Bulletin, No. 193, 31.12.2025, p. 2 - 6.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Brown, G 2025, 'What is "sexual" for the purposes of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009? Motive may actually be relevant after all, but should it be? The Appeal Court's decision in the appeal from the Sheriff Appeal Court in Kennedy v PF, Aberdeen', Greens Criminal Law Bulletin, no. 193, pp. 2 - 6. <https://uk.westlaw.com/Document/I250DC910EA6D11EFB089E35440C351B5/View/FullText.html>

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