Regina v. Prince
Court for Crown Cases Reserved
L.R. 2 Cr. Cas. Res. 154 (1875)
Relevant factsFree
Henry Prince (defendant) took fourteen-year-old Annie Phillips away from her father's custody without permission, in violation of a statute making it a misdemeanor to take an unmarried girl under sixteen from her guardian without consent. At trial, the jury found that Phillips looked older than sixteen, told Prince she was eighteen, and that Prince genuinely and reasonably believed her -- yet the jury still convicted him, and Prince appealed based on his reasonable mistake about her age.
IssueFree
Whether a reasonable mistake of fact about a victim's age is a defense to a crime when the statute contains no explicit mens rea requirement as to age.