You do not have to carry out an assault yourself to face a serious criminal charge. Encouraging somebody else to commit it can be enough—even if the offence you encouraged never takes place.
A recent court case illustrates the point. Darren Conway, 52, pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court on 11 September 2026 to offences including encouraging sexual assault. According to the police, messages showed him urging members of an online group to commit sexual offences against sleeping or drugged women.
The law in England and Wales provides two overlapping routes to criminal liability where you don’t actually commit the offence yourself: responsibility as an accomplice to an offence that is committed, and separate offences of encouraging or assisting crime.
The person who carries out an offence is usually described as the principal. Someone who assists or encourages them may be a secondary party, also called an accessory. The traditional language is “aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring”. Under section 8 of the Accessories and Abettors Act 1861, an accessory to an indictable offence can be prosecuted and punished as if they committed the offence themselves. Someone who deliberately encourages an assault may therefore be guilty of that assault despite never touching the victim or being present at the scene.
There must, however, be proof of the necessary state of mind. In R v Jogee [2016] UKSC 8, the Supreme Court, hearing an appeal from the Court of Appeal of Jamaica, confirmed that secondary liability requires an intention to assist or encourage the crime, with knowledge of the essential facts making it criminal. Merely foreseeing that somebody might commit an offence is evidence from which intention may be inferred but further evidence should support the existence of an intention.
The Serious Crime Act 2007 goes further by making encouragement or assistance an offence in its own right. Its principal provisions cover:
- Section 44: doing something capable of encouraging or assisting an offence, intending to encourage or assist it.
- Section 45: doing something capable of encouraging or assisting an offence, believing both that it will be committed and that the act will encourage or assist it.
- Section 46: a similar situation involving several possible offences, where the person believes one or more will be committed without knowing which.
Section 49 tells us that the intended offence does not have to happen, so not only can you be guilty of an offence you weren’t present for but you can also be guilty of an offence that never happened!
This matters particularly with online messages. A post or private message urging another person to commit an offence can itself amount to criminal conduct if the statutory requirements are met. The prosecution does not necessarily have to prove that the recipient acted on it. These offences can also be charged where the encouraged crime does take place.
The sentencing consequences can be substantial; section 58 of the Serious Crime Act tells us that the maximum penalty for encouraging or assisting an offence will generally be the same as if you committed the actual offence itself. For example, sexual assault under section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 carries a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment. Encouraging that offence will carry the same maximum. The good news is that just because the maximum sentences are identical it doesn’t follow that the actual sentence imposed with be identical. The court assesses each defendant’s culpability, their role, and the harm caused or intended. A limited supporting role may justify a lower sentence. Someone who plans, directs or persistently encourages serious offending may receive a sentence comparable to the person who carries it out. The absence of a completed offence does not make the intended harm irrelevant. Previous convictions, personal mitigation and any guilty plea also affect the result.
For serious encouragement, a substantial prison sentence is therefore a realistic prospect. There is no fixed percentage discount for being the encourager. The question is what that person intended, what they contributed and how serious the offending was—not simply whose hands carried it out.
If you have been accused of encouraging a criminal offence get in touch with Chetwode Criminal Defence Solicitors today for expert advice and representation.