View source for 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.<ref>Charles Upchurch, ''Before Wilde: Sex Between Men in Britain's Age of Reform'', University of California Press, 2009.</ref> The [[Offences against the Person Act 1861]] laid down specific penalties for attempted sodomy and indecent assault.

Men convicted of attempted sodomy included [[Rev John Church]] in 1816 and 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.

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