sex crime

A sex crime is, under Danish law, a collective term for criminal acts of a sexual nature regulated in Chapter 24 of the Danish Penal Code (straffeloven). The concept is not defined in any single provision, but is used as a common legal and linguistic label for offences that violate another person's sexual self-determination or integrity.

Chapter 24 of the Penal Code contains a number of separate provisions, each regulating specific conduct. The central provision is § 216, which deals with rape, but the chapter also contains provisions on other sexual assaults, sexual intercourse with persons below the age of sexual consent, and indecent exposure or violation of decency.

The sentencing range varies considerably depending on the specific act and its seriousness. Rape, for example, is as a starting point punishable by imprisonment for up to eight years, while particularly serious cases may carry higher penalties. Aggravated sentencing ranges apply to acts directed at children.

In practice, the term is used by the courts, the prosecution service and the police as an overarching category covering all offences in Chapter 24. The Penal Code in force is promulgated by Consolidation Act no. 1294 of 7 November 2025. A charge or conviction for a sex crime will, in the indictment and in court documents, always refer to the specific provision in Chapter 24 under which the conduct falls, rather than to the term sex crime as such.