Person who assists in the commission of a crime without directly participating
Also known as accessory to a crime · accessory to crime · criminal accessory
17 statements · 12% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations
9 identifiers linking accessory across the web's reference databases
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An accessory is a person who assists, but does not actually participate, in the commission of a crime. The distinction between an accessory and a principal is a question of fact and degree:The principal is the one whose acts or omissions, accompanied by the relevant mens rea, are the most immediate cause of the actus reus. If two or more people are directly responsible for the actus reus, they can be charged as joint principals (see: Common purpose). The test to distinguish a joint principal from an accessory is whether the defendant independently contributed to causing the actus reus rather than merely giving generalised and/or limited help and encouragement.