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 Attempts

This page has directions for (1) attempted burglary, (2) attempted rape and (3) attempted robbery

(1) Attempted burglary

In this case, burglary involves   entering premises (such as C**’s house) as a trespasser  – that is entering without the owner’s permission with the intention of stealing something inside it.

“Stealing” means taking property belonging to another – dishonestly, with the intention of permanently depriving the owner.

It is not necessary for someone to have taken anything in order to be guilty of burglary - an intention to take something is sufficient.

But in this case D** is not charged with burglary - he is charged with attempted burglary.

Before you can convict the defendant you must be sure of two things: first that he intended to commit burglary and second, that, with that intention, he did something which was more than mere preparation for committing that offence. In this connection, it is said by the prosecution that using the *** to attempt to force open the **window amounted to more than mere preparation for the offence. 

So, the key questions for you to answer in relation to Count *, having regard to all the evidence and the directions which I give you are

Are you sure that D** ?

Are you sure that at the time that he did that, he intended to burgle the premises and that ** was more than mere preparation for committing that offence?

If the answer to both questions is “yes”, D** is guilty of Count *.  If the answer to either question is “no”, he is not guilty of Count *.

(2) Attempted rape

A man rapes a woman if

(a) he intentionally penetrates her vagina, anus or mouth with his penis;

(b) at the time when he penetrated her, she did not consent to the penetration; and 

(c) at that time he did not reasonably believe that she was consenting.

So now, if a woman does not consent and the man does not reasonably believe that she is consenting, as a matter of law, forced oral sex is just as much rape as a man putting his penis into a woman’s vagina.

But in this case, D** is not charged with rape.  He is charged with attempted rape.

Before you can convict the defendant of attempted rape you must be sure:

(1)       that he intended to rape C** – that is he intended to put his penis into her mouth without her consent and without reasonably believing that she was consenting; and

(2)       that, with that intention, he did something which was more than mere preparation for committing that offence.

I said that you have to be sure that he intended to rape her.  Defendants very rarely say out loud that they intend to commit a crime.  So how do you decide what someone intends?  The answer is that you can infer someone’s intention by looking at all the circumstances, and in particular what he did.

I have used the word “consent”.  “Consent” means “agree”.  A woman consents to sexual activity only if she agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. Mere submission to something that a woman does not want to happen does not amount to consent.

The prosecution say that D** **

The defendant denies that.  He says that **

So, the key questions for you to answer in relation to Count 1, having regard to all the evidence are these

Are you sure that D** placed his erect penis close to C**’s face and got on top of her?

Are you sure that he intended to place his penis in her mouth, without her consent?

Are you sure that at the time he did not reasonably believe that she was consenting?

If the answers to these questions are “yes”, the defendant is guilty.  If the answer to any question is “no”, he is not guilty.

(3) Attempted robbery

Robbery involves two things

1.      Stealing – i.e. dishonestly taking something with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of it;        and

2.      either immediately before, or at the same time, and in order to steal, using force against the victim or putting the victim in fear of being subjected to force then and there.

But in this case, the defendant is not charged with robbery.  He is charged with attempted robbery.

Someone attempts to commit an offence – such as robbery - if, with the intention of committing an offence, he does something that is more than mere preparation for committing that offence.

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