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Tuesday 21 November 2017

FOOD FOR LEGAL THOUGHT

During my time on the bench I sat on very few cases concerning indecent images of a child.  Those that do come to mind were of  category A or B and were of course sent to the crown court. The 21 year old male sentenced by Blackburn magistrates last week has in my humble opinion reason to feel aggrieved at a justice system which in effect came to its conclusion by finding him guilty by applying the concept of strict liability in theory if not in practice.  In England and Wales if you are under 18 you must have parental consent to get married. However, if you are 16 or 17 years old and you are from England and Wales you can be married in Scotland. The child in the case in question was 16 and had on her own initiative sent an image to her then boyfriend. The report is available here. It provides food for thought.

2 comments:

  1. It certainly raises questions of the culpability one has for being sent any unsolicited material.

    However, I also have to raise an eyebrow at the claim that he tried to delete the image of the nubile young lady, honest he did, but for some reason...

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  2. If the facts truly were as reported, it's worrying that the police decided to prosecute at all. And puzzling why the bench did not sentence by means of a discharge.

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