(1)A person (A) commits an offence if—
(a)he intentionally penetrates the vagina or anus of another person (B) with a part of his body or anything else,
(b)the penetration is sexual,
(c)B does not consent to the penetration, and
(d)A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
(2)Whether a belief is reasonable is to be determined having regard to all the circumstances, including any steps A has taken to ascertain whether B consents.
(3)Sections 75 and 76 apply to an offence under this section.
(4)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life.
Cases considering section 2 20
[2026] EWCA Crim 10 · 16 January 2026
The court treated the general assault-by-penetration offence as one for which age was not an element, but lack of consent and lack of reasonable belief in consent were material issues. Those issues were left to the jury, so the indictment’s age error caused no adverse consequence (see paras [7], [12], [18], [23]–[24]).
[2025] EWCA Crim 1750 · 9 December 2025
The provision identified the convicted offence of assault by penetration. The court applied the sentencing guideline to that offence and substituted a five-year sentence after classifying the harm as category 2B. (see paras [3], [19]–[26])
[2025] EWCA Crim 1524 · 5 November 2025
The court upheld the categorisation of the offence under s.2 as category A2, based on significant planning and the seriousness of the harm. (see paras [26]; [42]-[43])
What each judgment says about section 2 is in the case-law panel in the full Act.
11.Section 2 covers the situation where a person (A) intentionally penetrates the vagina or anus of another person (B). The offence is committed where the penetration is by a part of A’s body (for example, a finger) or anything else, (for example, a bottle); where the penetration is sexual (as defined in section 78), so that it excludes, for example, intimate searches and medical procedures; where B does not consent to the penetration; and where A does not reasonably believe that B consents. What is said in the note to section 1 about whether a belief in consent is reasonable also applies here. This and all subsequent offences in the Bill save the offence at section 5 can be committed by a male or female, against a male or female. Subsection (3) provides that sections 75 and 76 apply to this offence. Sections 75 and 76 deal with evidential and conclusive presumptions about consent.