 Steven
Freeman, who led the Paedophile Information Exchange, admitted charges
relating to 3,000 drawings found at his south London home.
The drawings found at Freeman's home, where the group met, were
described at the Old Bailey as vile and disgusting. Police found
he had been drawing images of children being raped. The harrowing
drawings were said to be amongst the worst seen by police.
The trial was the first under the 2009 Coroners and Justice Act which
includes sketches among indecent images.
Police also found about 14,500 pictures and films on computer disks
at the home of Freeman and two of the other defendants. Tens of
thousands of images were stored on encrypted hard-drives, officers
believe.
Freeman pleaded guilty to 10 specimen charges of possessing incident
images, three charges of distributing the material and one count of
failing to disclose the password for an encrypted computer. He was given
an indeterminate term for public protection with a minimum term of 30
months.
The other defendants were given prison sentences from 12 to 24
months.
Comment: In the shadow of more serious offences
From Angelus
So, the first prosecution under the "Dangerous
Cartoons Act" was successful. And as usual in these matters, the police
and the CPS have started with the low-hanging fruit. Given the gravity
of the other offences these people were charged with, there is no doubt
that no questions were raised about the legality of the Coroner's and
Justice Act's provisions to criminalise the possession of drawings with
respect to universally accepted and understood principles of freedom of
conscience.
A drawing is a record of a thought, an idea, and the freedom to think
and to communicate ideas is essential in a free society. It does not and
should not matter that the thought itself may be repugnant to the vast
majority of people - what matters should be the right of people to think
what they choose and to communicate those thoughts. If those thoughts
then lead to actions then full weight of the law should rightly descend
upon them, but the transmission of ideas, even repugnant ones, should
and must remain a fundamental right.
|
Downloaded
pictures of the animated likenesses of characters from The
Simpsons television show engaged in sexually explicit acts does
not constitute child pornography, an Ottawa judge has ruled,
acquitting a man of possessing the graphic images.
