Child prostitution case sparks law debate TASMANIA'S attorney-general is pushing for tougher child sex offence laws following the case of a 12-year-old girl who was prostituted by her mother and her mother's partner. The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute has released an issues paper, which was commissioned by the state government after it was revealed that around 100 men had paid for sex with the girl in 2009. Attorney-General Brian Wightman responded by saying those accused of sex with an underage person should not be able to argue they didn't know that person's age. "My personal view is that in light of this case and the arguments raised in the issues paper, we should move to introduce a no-defence age in Tasmania so that defendants would not be able to use the excuse that they did not realise the person was underage, when they are below a specified age, as a defence," Mr Wightman said in a statement. The paper also considers whether the onus should be on the accused to prove an age mistake or on the prosecution to disprove it. "These are serious matters that go to the very essence of our criminal law and the need to balance the protection of society against the rights of an accused to a fair trial," Mr Wightman said. The Tasmanian opposition said the government needed to act immediately. "Every day we delay we are effectively putting children in this state at risk," a statement said. Tasmania is clearly out of step with the rest of the country as it is the only Australian jurisdiction that does not have a no-defence age for child sex offences. Former state politician Terry Martin was the only person convicted of having sex with the girl. He received a 10-month suspended jail sentence in November. The girl's mother, who can't be named, and her partner Gary John Devine are serving jail sentences.