A British gay man has received an apology from police after he was forced to give a DNA sample based on a conviction for having consensual gay sex thirty years ago when homosexual sex was a criminal offense for people aged under 21. Former soldier Stephen Close, 50, was convicted of gross indecency in 1983 for having sex with another man when both were under 21 but an age when it would be legal today. The DNA sample was taken in a police programme to gain more information about historical offenders. The case is one of several in Britain where gay men say they have been compelled to give DNA samples based on conviction under a law which was repealed over a decade ago. Two of the men have formally complained of being classified in the same category as rapists and murderers. Close has received an apology from the police.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 18th January 2013 - 8:45pm