A legal loophole that allowed child molesters aged 21 and under to claim a special defence related to their age will be closed by Government.The relevant section of the Criminal Code will be reworded to specify that the defence is now only available to those aged 18 and under.The Criminal Code Amendment Act 2012 was tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, less than two months after Chief Justice Ian Kawaley raised the issue during a high profile case.Joshua Crockwell, a 21-year-old firefighter accused of getting a 12-year-old to give him oral sex, tried to appeal against the conviction based on the fact that he was only 20 at the time himself.During the appeal, Mr Justice Kawaley noted how the defence is set out in cases of sexual exploitation of a young person aged under 14 and sexual assault of a young person aged under 16.“For an accused who at the time of the offence was under 21 years of age, although consent can never be a defence, reasonable grounds for believing that the complainant was fourteen years old or more is a defence,” he explained.He added: “The legislation contains a carefully calibrated legal regime according to which the strictest levels of criminal liability are reserved for persons of 21 years and older with the result that the conduct of such offenders is legally defined as being more serious in terms of gravity.”However, the Chief Justice noted that the age of 21 was specified in the Criminal Code, which dates from 1907, when the overall age of majority in Bermuda was 21. Since then, though, the Age of Majority Act was passed in 2001 meaning that the age of majority became 18 years old.Mr Justice Kawaley pointed out that all references to age 21 were replaced in law with 18 except in the part of the Criminal Code relating to certain sex offences against youngsters.He said he found it “difficult to discern any rational basis” for this, and suggested it could “cured by legislative action.”The bill tabled yesterday proposes the action suggested by the top judge and will be debated by Parliament at a later date.