Attempted sodomy

Attempted sodomy was a charge sometimes brought against men suspected of homosexual acts, given that sodomy itself was difficut to prove. Attempted sodomy was re-classified as an "infamous crime" under the Threatening Letters Act 1825 which dealt with blackmail.

Men convicted of attempted sodomy included the painter Simeon Solomon in 1873.

After the passing of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, the new and more all-embracing offence of "gross indecency" could be used instead.