"adult person" means a person who is of or over the age of 18 years.
"child" means a person who is under the age of 16 years.
"conduct" includes--
(a) communicating in person or by telephone, the internet
or other means, or
(b) providing any computer image, video or publication.
"unlawful sexual activity" means an act that constitutes an offence under this
Division or Division 10A, 15 or 15A (or, in the case of an act occurring
outside this State, that would constitute such an offence if it occurred in
this State).
(a) in the case of
a child who is under the age of 14 years--imprisonment for 15 years, or
(b)
in any other case--imprisonment for 12 years.
(2B) For the purposes of
subsection (2A), a child has been
"groomed for sexual purposes" by an adult person if, on one or more previous
occasions, the adult person has engaged in conduct that exposed the child to
indecent material.
(5) Fictitious children A reference in
this section to a child includes a reference to a person who pretends to be a
child if the accused believed that the person was a child. In that case, a
reference in this section--
(b) to the age of the child is a reference to the age that
the accused believed the person to be.
(6) Charge for aggravated offence The
higher maximum penalty under subsection (2), (2A) or (3) in the case of a
child under the age of 14 years does not apply unless the age of the child is
set out in the charge for the offence.
(7) Defence It is a defence in
proceedings for an offence against this section if the accused reasonably
believed that the other person was not a child.
(8) Alternative verdict If on
the trial of a person charged with an offence against subsection (2) or (2A)
the jury is not satisfied that the offence is proven but is satisfied that the
person has committed an offence against subsection (3), the jury may acquit
the person of the offence charged and find the person guilty of an offence
against subsection (3). The person is liable to punishment accordingly.