(1)  In this section, unlawful sexual act means an act that constitutes an offence under section 124 , 124A , 124B , 124C , 125B , 126 , 127 , 133 or 185 whether committed before, on or after the commencement of this section.

(2)  A person is guilty of a crime if –

(a) the person commits the persistent sexual abuse of a young person; and

(b) at the time of the abuse, the young person is under the age of 17 and is not married to the accused.

Charge:  Persistent sexual abuse of a child [ or young person].

(3)  An accused person is guilty of the persistent sexual abuse of a young person under subsection (2) if, during a particular period when the young person was under the age of 17 years–

(a) the accused committed an unlawful sexual act in relation to the young person on at least 3 occasions; and

(b) the young person was not married to the accused.

(4)  For the purposes of subsection (3) –

(a) it is not necessary to prove the dates on which any of the persistent sexual abuse was committed or the exact circumstances in which any of the persistent sexual abuse was committed; and

(b) the unlawful sexual act that was committed on any one of the occasions need not have been the same as the unlawful sexual act that was committed on each or any of the other occasions; and

(c) on a trial before a jury for an offence against subsection (2) , it is not necessary for each member of the jury to be satisfied that the unlawful sexual acts were committed on the same 3 occasions.

(5)  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  

(6)  An indictment charging a person with having committed an offence under subsection (2) –

(a) is to specify the particular period during which it is alleged that the persistent sexual abuse occurred; and

(b) is not to contain a separate charge that the accused committed an unlawful sexual act in relation to the young person during that period.

(6A)  A reference in this section to an unlawful sexual act that is committed by a person in relation to a young person includes a reference to conduct that was, in relation to the young person, committed by the person outside the State if –

(a) the conduct was unlawful in the State, territory or country in which it was committed and, if it had been committed in this State by the person in relation to the young person, would have been an unlawful sexual act; and

(b) at least one unlawful sexual act in relation to the young person was committed by the person in this State.

(6B)  A Court sentencing a person for an offence against subsection (2) is to make findings in relation to either the nature or the character, or both the nature and the character, of the persistent sexual abuse and, in doing so, the Court is not required to ask any questions of the jury for the purposes of making those findings.

(7)  A prosecution for an offence under this section is not to be commenced without the written authority of the Director of Public Prosecutions.