Man Who Must Notify Police 24 Hours Before Having Sex Or Face Five Years In Prison Threatens Hunger Strike

A British man who was acquitted of rape charges in a 2015 retrial has threatened to go on hunger strike to protest being subjected to an order that he must give police 24 hours notice before engaging in sexual activity.

The unnamed, single British man in his 40s, who resides in North Yorkshire, England, was placed under an “interim sexual risk order” (SRO), a 2015 law applicable to anyone that police authorities believe poses a public risk of sexual assault. The order may be imposed regardless of whether the subject has been convicted of a relevant sexual offense.

Under the law enacted in England and Wales in 2015, the man, who cannot be named due to legal restrictions, faces a prison sentence of up to five years if he refuses to comply with the order to notify police 24 hours in advance of sexual activity.

The order is a civil order imposed by court magistrates at the request of police authorities. It requires any person who is the subject of the order to disclose any planned sexual activity to the police, at least 24 hours in advance or face up to five years in prison.

According to the International Business Times, since the law was introduced, at least 31 men and women have appeared before courts under the law.

In the man’s case, the order required him to “disclose the details of any female including her name, address and date of birth… at least 24 hours prior to any sexual activity taking place.”

The order also prohibits him from using any internet-enabled device, including certain types of refrigerators and intercom devices, according to the Mirror.

Police authorities said they applied to a York Magistrates Court for the order to be imposed because the man, who had admitted having interest in sadomasochistic sex, was a threat to potential partners.

The man had frequently visited a “Fifty Shades Of Grey-style fetish club” with a previous partner who accused him of rape. After spending 14 months in remand he was acquitted of the crime in a 2015 retrial.

The man issued a statement in response to the order.

He protested it as unjust “punishment” for a crime for which he had already been acquitted unanimously by a jury. He argued that the New Yorkshire Police misapplied the law deliberately and accused the authorities of “sour grapes.”

He said the order ensured effectively that he has no prospects of a relationship.

“Can you imagine, 24 hours before sex? Come on,” he said.

The restriction “puts an end to your life. I had more freedom in prison. The severity of the restrictions exceeds what convicted criminals would get on a Sexual Offence Prevention Order.”

“I protest that even though a jury found me unanimously not guilty, after nearly two years I still find myself being punished for a crime that never happened,” his statement read. “I protest to being subject to an order that is unlawful in almost every syllable, is unjustified and is so extreme as to be utterly unlivable.”

He argued that the Home Office guidelines outline clearly the categories of behavior that the SRO was meant to curb and that none applied to him.

“The law has been misapplied… out of sour grapes over being shown to be incompetent in their investigation of the original complaint against me.”

He had previously been arrested and charged with violating the terms of the SRO when he allegedly failed to give police the PIN number of his cell phone. But he said he refused to give the PIN number after taking legal advice.

He will appear before the York Magistrates Court on August 19 for the full hearing of his case.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the North Yorkshire Police said the authorities applied for the order because they were convinced that “the action was justified.” The spokesperson said police authorities were determined to enforce the order to “protect the public from the risk of sexual harm.”

Police also said they would apply to the court at the next hearing to make the order permanent.

“I’m in a state of shock, I cannot believe this is how the justice system works,” the man reacted. “I thought the police were interested in finding out the truth, the only thing the police are interested in is securing convictions.”

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