Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Crimes Act 1958 - SECT 325

Accessories

325. Accessories



(1) Where a person (in this section called the principal offender) has
committed a serious indictable offence (in this section called the principal
offence), any other person who, knowing or believing the principal offender to
be guilty of the principal offence or some other serious indictable offence,
without lawful authority or reasonable excuse does any act with the purpose of
impeding the apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of the
principal offender shall be guilty of an indictable offence.

(2) If, on the trial of any person for a serious indictable offence, the jury
are satisfied that the offence charged (or some other serious indictable
offence of which the accused might on that charge be found guilty) was
committed, but find the accused not guilty of it, they may find him guilty of
any offence under subsection (1) of which they are satisfied that he is guilty
in relation to the offence charged (or that other offence).

(3) A person charged with an offence against subsection (1) may be indicted
and convicted together with or before or after the principal offender and
whether or not the principal offender is amenable to justice.





(4) A person convicted of an offence against subsection (1) shall be liable-

   (a)  if the principal offence is one for which the penalty is level 1
        imprisonment (life) to level 3 imprisonment (20 years maximum); or





   (b)  in any other case, to imprisonment for a term which is neither-

   (i)  more than 5 years in length; nor





   (ii) more than one-half the length of the longest term which may be imposed
        on first conviction for the principal offence.

* * * * *



(6) In this section, serious indictable offence means an indictable offence
which, by virtue of any enactment, is punishable on first conviction with
imprisonment for life or for a term of five years or more.







(4) Concealers of offences