Extreme Pornography News

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, today thanked the public for their contribution to the Your Freedom debate, which he launched on 1 July. Now that 46,000 people have left 14,000 ideas and 95,000 comments on the Your Freedom website, Mr Clegg said that it is time for ministers and officials to set to work examining every idea to see what might be feasible and how it might be brought into effect.

This phase of Your Freedom will begin on Friday 10 September, after which the site will not be accepting new comments or ideas.

Melon Farmers Suggestions

Repeal of the Dangerous Pictures Act banning 'Extreme Porn'

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Repeal of the Dangerous Cartoons Act banning anime porn

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TV Censorship

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Video Censorship

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Obscene Publications Act

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Prostitution

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RIPA Covert Communications Surveillance

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Public Drinking Bans

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Blasphemy

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effery Gray has been given a suspended jail sentence after police found a CS spray, a stun gun and animal pornography at his home.

The court heard how officers found the items when they raided the man's flat.

Jim Hope, prosecuting, said: The stun gun is described as being of the appearance of a torch with two metal prongs, and two buttons, one for the light and the other to operate a gun. Also recovered from the bedroom was a DVD disc.

When police viewed the footage they found an extreme 22-minute pornographic film.

Judge Beatrice Bolton said she had been appalled by the film: I have seen it and it's pretty disgusting. It's pretty extreme and particularly unpleasant and I don't know who it is that gets any sexual satisfaction out of this.

Gray was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for two years for the weapons charges and seven days for the porn, to run concurrently.

In sentencing, Judge Bolton added: What led you to keep hold of this property, I don't know. You now have a record after a great deal of Army service and an unblemished character.

A man was jailed for two-and-a-half years after appearing at St Albans Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to 22 charges of selling counterfeit CDs and DVDs and possession of extreme pornography.

He was given two years for selling counterfeit CDs and DVDs and six months for each of the 16 animal porn charges, to run concurrently.

Police 'Celebrate'

The story was reported under the headline: Hatfield police celebrate first conviction for extreme porn under new laws

Sergeant Dey said: We are the first officers in the county to make use of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 – possession of extreme pornographic images – and it was only possible by the fantastic support from FACT and BPI.

We are thrilled with Smith's significant sentence which shows how this type of crime is viewed by the courts.

The investigation into him took nearly a year.

In matters of extreme porn, the message of recent cases seems to be that whether you get off increasingly depends on how familiar your legal team are with a law still in its courtroom infancy.

...Read the full article

A Dorset man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to 11 counts of possessing extreme pornography depicting pain being inflicted.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard how David Hill had been arrested after police searched his mother's home and another property in Christchurch.

Prosecutor Desmond Duffy said two computers had been seized and examined by experts who found three movies and 26 still images featuring scenes of violence: When interviewed in January this year Mr Hill admitted downloading the material because he was participating in bondage acts,  He accepted that what he had downloaded was extreme in nature, acknowledging participants were likely to be experiencing severe pain and risking injury as a result.

Duffy added that Hill had wanted to assess if he felt able to participate in that kind of activity himself.

Defending, Robert Gray said his client was a professional man of previous good character who had received treatment for his interest in this kind of material.

The court heard how Hill had been suspended from his job, on full pay, pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

Imposing a two-year community order and three-month curfew, Judge Samuel Wiggs told Hill: It is extremely sad that you should be in this court. You have substantial qualifications in the career which you follow. Hill was ordered to pay £1,350 prosecution costs.

And a reminder of the law

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008

Section 63 Possession of extreme pornographic images

...

(7) An image falls within this subsection if it portrays, in an explicit and realistic way, any of the following—

(a) an act which threatens a person’s life,
(b) an act which results, or is likely to result, in serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals,

...

A man denied possessing pornography that depicted sex acts with a horse and a dog at Tower Bridge Magistrates' Court last week.

Frederick Shaw said the DVD was not in the hundreds of mainstream films in his personal library and voiced a desire to cross exam police officers at a Crown Court trial.

A stunning reversal for police and prosecution in North Wales. A case, scheduled to be heard in Mold Crown Court, was the culmination of a year-long nightmare for Andrew Hollan as the CPS declined to offer any evidence, and he left court a free man.

The saga began last summer when, following a tip-off, police raided Holland's home looking for indecent images of children. They found none, but they did find two clips, one involving a woman purportedly having sex with a tiger, and one which is believed to have depicted sado-masochistic activity between adults.

Despite Holland's protests that he had no interest in the material, and that it had been sent to him unsolicited as a joke, he was charged with possessing extreme porn. In a first court appearance in January of this year, the tiger porn charge was dropped when prosecuting counsel discovered the volume control and at the end of the action heard the tiger turn to camera and say: That beats doing adverts for a living.

The clip was therefore deemed to be unrealistic and out of scope as far as extreme porn legislation was concerned.

The court then turned its attention to the allegedly more serious clip involving adult interaction which, it has been suggested, featured some seriously unpleasant application of sharp objects to genitals.

Holland spoke to members of Consenting Adult Action Network and sexual rights organisation Backlash, and he ended up pleading not guilty. He was expected to call several expert witnesses who would have challenged the characterisation of the clip as pornographic, arguing instead that the content was intended to be a form of extremely bad taste joke and not sexual in nature.

The CPS, however, declined to offer any evidence, and the matter is at an end.

We spoke to Holland after the case and he declared himself very relieved. Due to the sexual nature of the case, he has been barred from contact with his daughter since the case began and he is now determined to re-establish contact. He told us: Now I can start to put my life back together.

The CPS has not yet commented on this matter, or on the fact that on each charge, it was not until the day of the court appearance that it decided the evidence to hand was inadequate.

...Read the full article

And a reminder of the law

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008

Section 63 Possession of extreme pornographic images

It is an offence for a person to be in possession of an extreme pornographic image which is both—

(a) pornographic, and
(b) an extreme image. 

An image is “pornographic” if it is of such a nature that it must reasonably be assumed to have been produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal.

...

Proceedings for an offence under this section may not be instituted—

(a) in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions

Short jokey bad taste porn clips are clearly produced for the purpose of amusement or even disgust but they are simply not produced for sexual arousal.

DPP Keir Starmer should be ashamed of his persecution of an innocent man.

A man found with extreme porn and child porn after police raided his home and seized a CD disk and computers.

Phil Howes, prosecuting, said when the items were examined, police found 13 indecent images of children. Further extreme pornographic images were found.

John Wood pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of a total of 17 extreme pornographic images on June 22 last year. Wood also admitted a single charge of possession of 13 indecent images of children on the same date.

He was given a three-year community order with a condition to complete a sex offenders' programme. Wood was also placed on the sex offenders' register for five years.He was ordered to pay £500 prosecution costs.

Lawrence Bruce, defending, described the child porn images as at the lower end of the scale and said the extreme porn was the more exotic kind of sexual activity between adults.

Police officer prosecuted

Based on article from bbc.co.uk

An ex police community support officer who downloaded pictures of children being abused has been given a suspended jail term. James Allan, admitted 14 offences of making indecent images of children and one of possessing extreme pornography.

He was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court. He was also given a two year supervision order, disqualified from working with children for life and put on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Supt Andy Towler, of Cumbria Police, said: The result today sends a strong message to offenders that no matter who you are, or your standing within the community, you will be caught and brought to justice.

More charges added to more serious offence

See article from croydonguardian.co.uk

Matthew Thain collected internet pictures of children being abused by adults, as well as extreme animal pornography, but was spared jail after a judge deemed supervision and a sexual offences prevention order would be enough to protect other children.

The teenager was given a three-year supervision order, a youth offending programme, and a residency and sexual offences prevention order.

He admitted four counts of sexual assault on a child under 13, two counts of making indecent images and one of possessing extreme pornography.

And again

Based on article from malverngazette.co.uk

A Ministry of Defence worker's stash of child pornography and bestiality videos was uncovered when he dropped three memory sticks at a military centre where he worked.

Jeremy Spicer also stored some of the illegal images on his work computers. He was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court after earlier admitting 12 counts of making (ie copying) indecent photographs of children and three counts under the new extreme pornography law of possessing images portraying bestiality.

Spicer was jailed for 15 months suspended for two years and given a six month supervision order. He was also ordered to pay £2,000 costs, sign the sex offenders' register and be subject to a sexual offences prevention order for five years.

Update: Top up charges

27th August 2010. See article from whtimes.co.uk

A man caught with child porn images when he took his computer into a repair shop has been jailed. Patrick Franklin also had a collection of extreme animal pornography which was discovered after he took his hard-drive into PC Pitstop in Hebburn in January.

Franklin pleaded guilty to nine charges of possessing indecent photographs of children, relating to 93 images and 20 movies. He admitted two charges of possessing extreme pornography relating to 61 movies and 19 images of adult bestiality.

Judge David Wood jailed him for 12 months, banned him from working with children and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. The judge told him: These are serious offences involving the abuse of young children who have to pose for these photographs, and also a number of very unpleasant images of adult bestiality.

Update: More top up charges

13th September 2010. See article from romfordrecorder.co.uk

John Tasker collected a revolting library containing more than 21,000 images of child and animal pornography, a court heard.

Along with 21,425 indecent images of minors held on DVDs and computers, officers found extreme porn depicting adults engaged in oral and penetrative sex with horses and dogs.

Tasker admitted 15 counts of making indecent images, one count of possessing indecent images and five counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.

Tasker was sentenced to a three-year supervision and community order, with a requirement to undertake a community sexual offenders' programme and to sign on the sexual offenders' register for five years. He was also ordered to pay £450 costs, with a separate direction ordering the destruction of the images seized.

Update: More top up charges

17th September 2010. See article from yorkpress.co.uk

Oliver Corbett's hoard of nearly 63,000 child porn photos and videos was the largest ever found by the Yorkshire's police and included nearly 600 hard-core images, said Simon Ostler, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

He was jailed for 32 months. He had pleaded guilty to ten offences including one of possessing extreme pornography featuring adults. He was put on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and made subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for six years.

Update: Gorilla Porn

18th September 2010. Based on article from news.com.au

John Ridley from Northampton was arrested at his home, where police found thousands of indecent picture files on his computer, Northampton Magistrates Court heard.

Among the files were bestiality images relating to several breeds of animals, including an extreme pornographic image which portrayed in an explicit and realistic way a person performing an act of intercourse with a live gorilla, the Northampton Chronicle reported.

The majority of files were allegedly indecent images of children. Ridley appeared in court to enter no plea to 14 charges of possessing indecent images.

Prosecutor Colin McGregor told the court that the case was too serious to be dealt with at a magistrates' court. It was adjourned for six weeks, when it will be heard at a crown court.

Update: Car Crash

21st September 2010. Based on article from cambridge-news.co.uk

Police called to a car crash found laptops containing child pornography, a court heard. The laptops and a video showing bestiality had been thrown from the vehicle by the force of the crash.

Keith Staples admitted possessing extreme pornography and four charges of making indecent images of children when he appeared before magistrates in the town.

He was made subject to a three-year community order with a supervision requirement and a condition that he takes part in a sex offender treatment programme. Magistrates put Staples on the sex offenders register for five years and ordered that property seized in the incident be destroyed. He must also pay £85 prosecution costs.

Update: Never Help the Police

24th September 2010. Based on article from yorkshirepost.co.uk

The father of a Hull teenager who vanished without trace six months ago sacrificed his reputation in a desperate bid to find him when he handed police his computer which may have revealed his son's contacts.

The retired civil servant made no attempt to clean up his system's hard drive when he handed it to police. Detectives found no clues as to his youngest son's disappearance but instead discovered 415 images of children in erotic poses plus three photographs of extreme pornography featuring adults engaging in bestiality.

Judge McDonald handed him a community order with supervision for two years. He will have to complete a sex offenders treatment programme, comply with a sexual offences prevention order and sign the sex offenders register for five years. He will also pay £425 costs.

Roger Bohling admitted four charges of making indecent images, four charges of possessing indecent images and three of possessing extreme pornography at an earlier hearing. The child images were ranked at Level One - the lowest level of seriousness.

Update: Bondage

27th September 2010. See article from northamptonchron.co.uk

Retired supply teacher and ex-councillor Alexander Wood was caught when police acting on a tip-off raided his home. Officers discovered child pornography as well as 43 images of extreme pornography involving bondage and mutilation.

At a hearing at Northampton Crown Court last month, Wood admitted a catalogue of offences, including possessing and downloading indecent images and videos of children, and using MSN and other internet chat rooms to incite people he believed to be underage school girls to discuss sex and perform sexual acts for him.

Of the 1,300 abusive images found by police, 64 were classified at the two most serious levels involving child sex abuse, bestiality and torture.

Sentencing Wood to a three-year community order with supervision yesterday, Judge Ian Alexander QC said he would not be imposing a prison sentence because guidelines would not allow for a term long enough for Wood to complete sex offender treatment programmes. As part of his sentence, Wood will have to attend a sex offender treatment programme and sign the sex offenders' register. He will also be the subject of a sexual offences prevention order and will have to pay prosecution costs.

Update: 12,000 Images

10th October 2010. Based on article from menmedia.co.uk

A man who had more than 12,000 images of extreme pornography on his computer has been jailed for two years.

Anthony Robinson had nearly 20,000 indecent images of children ranging from category one to category five, the most serious.

Update: Dope

10th October 2010. Based on article from thisisbristol.co.uk

Two men who pleaded guilty to growing cannabis at their Barton Hill homes have been jailed.

Stephen Taylor and Andrew Boulton both admitted cultivating the Class B drug.

Father-of-seven Taylor further admitted possessing an extreme porn video and a prohibited stun gun.

Judge Simon Darwall-Smith handed Taylor a two-year sentence and Boulton one year.

A man who kept movies depicting extreme pornography has been jailed.

Darren Toone pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Liverpool Crown Court to two counts of possession of indecent images of children and possession of amphetamines.

He also pleaded guilty at an earlier date to 19 counts of possession of extreme pornography contrary to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.

On Monday he was jailed for 16 months at Liverpool Crown Court.

Toone's computer was seized in February 2009 as part of a separate investigation by Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team. Police were called to the house, which Toone shared with his girlfriend, after she was found dead. An investigation was launched and officers concluded there were no suspicious circumstances, with the details passed to the coroner.

However, during the course of the investigation two of Toone's computers were seized. Examination by GMP's High-Tech Crime Unit revealed he had a large amount of commercial and homemade pornography. This included 19 movies showing violent rape scenes and bestiality and two movies containing indecent images of children.

Detective Constable Karen Appleton said: Owning and watching these sorts of films is not a victimless crime. People who pay to download these movies serve only to line the pockets of people who make them and create an industry that leads to the abuse of children and innocent people.

A man caught with a jokey bad taste video on his mobile was warned by a judge he could have faced jail. Police found the short video clip on Michael Nelson's mobile after he was arrested and taken to Gill Bridge police station in Sunderland.

The footage showed a man's genitals being mutilated and had been on his phone for several months, a court heard.

Perhaps this was just the well circulated video showing a woman's stiletto heel being ground into a guys dick. This clip is probably languishing forgotten in the inbox of thousands of people.

Persecutor Jeanette Smith told Sunderland Magistrates' Court that the 23-year-old blamed peer pressure, telling police the images were going about the streets, but he did not know who had sent them to him. He said at first he could not delete it, but accepted later he could have deleted it, but pressure from friends made him keep it on his phone, she added.

Nelson admitted to an offence of possessing extreme pornography at a court hearing in June.

Defence solicitor Geoff Pearson said Nelson, who has no previous convictions, did not forward the clip on to anyone and had no other hardcore pornography on his phone. Pearson said: This is an image that was sent to him on his phone by an individual. He did not invite it and he has not done anything with it in the sense he did not distribute it. It just sat on his phone for a long time.

He added: The images are pretty awful, I have to accept that and he accepts that. I can't imagine why you would want to watch this, unless you were the particular type of person that found some gratification in it.

He is, or he was, a young man of impeccable character and this is not the kind of matter he was seeking or gets any gratification from. If only he had pressed the delete button, but it may have been peer pressure that caused him not to do so and got him into this trouble.

District Judge Roger Elsey ordered Nelson to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

He said: There is no doubt that this was a revolting and perverted piece of video and there is no reasonable explanation for this being on your mobile for the time it was. If you had any previous convictions or you had distributed this piece of video, you would be going to prison.

Nelson was also ordered to pay £85 towards court costs.

The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent on 6 August 2010.

The Act amends the Obscene Material section of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

1. It increases the penalty associated with Obscene Material to 5 years imprisonment.
2. It adds clauses to ban the possession of 'extreme pornography'. This mostly based upon the version of the law applying to the rest of the UK but widens the definition of extreme pornography

The Act adds the following clauses:

Section 51A Extreme pornography

(1) A person who is in possession of an extreme pornographic image is guilty of an offence under this section.

(2) An extreme pornographic image is an image which is all of the following—

(a) obscene,
(b) pornographic,
(c) extreme.

(3) An image is pornographic if it is of such a nature that it must reasonably be  assumed to have been made solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal.

(4) Where (as found in the person's possession) an image forms part of a series of images, the question of whether the image is pornographic is to be determined by reference to—

(a) the image itself, and
(b) where the series of images is such as to be capable of providing a context for the image, its context within the series of images, and reference may also be had to any sounds accompanying the image or the series of images.

(6) An image is extreme if it depicts, in an explicit and realistic way any of the following—

(a) an act which takes or threatens a person's life
(b) an act which results, or is likely to result, in a person's severe injury,
(c) rape or other non-consensual penetrative sexual activity,
(d) sexual activity involving (directly or indirectly) a human corpse,
(e) an act which involves sexual activity between a person and an animal (or the carcase of an animal).

(7) In determining whether (as found in the person's possession) an image depicts an act mentioned in subsection (6), reference may be had to—

(a) how the image is or was described (whether the description is part of the image itself or otherwise),
(b) any sounds accompanying the image,
(c) where the image forms an integral part of a narrative constituted by a series of images—

(i) any sounds accompanying the series of images,
(ii) the context provided by that narrative.

(8) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both,
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years or to a fine or to both.

(9) In this section, an image is—

(a) a moving or still image (made by any means), or
(b) data (stored by any means) which is capable of conversion into such an image.

51B Extreme pornography: excluded images

(1) An offence is not committed under section 51A if the image is an excluded image.

(2) An excluded image is an image which is all or part of a classified work.

(3) An image is not an excluded image where—

(a) it has been extracted from a classified work, and
(b) it must be reasonably be assumed to have been extracted (whether with or without other images) from the work solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal.

51C Extreme pornography: defences

(1) Where a person (A) is charged with an offence under section 51A, it is a defence for A to prove one or more of—

(a) that A had a legitimate reason for being in possession of the image concerned
(b) that A had not seen the image concerned and did not know, nor had any cause to suspect, it to be an extreme pornographic image,
(c) that A—

(i) was sent the image concerned without any prior request having been made by or on behalf of A, and
(ii) did not keep it for an unreasonable time.

(3) Where A is charged with an offence under section 51A, it is a defence for A to prove that—

A directly participated in the act depicted, and—

(a) in the case of an image which depicts an act described in subsection (6)(a) of that section, if the act depicted did not actually take or threaten a person's life
(b) in the case of an image which depicts an act described in subsection (6)(b) of that section, if the act depicted did not actually result in (nor was it actually likely to result in) a person's severe injury,
(c) in the case of an image which depicts an act described in subsection (6)(c) of that section, if the act depicted did not actually involve nonconsensual activity
(d) in the case of an image which depicts an act described in subsection (6)(d) of that section, if what is depicted as a human corpse was not in fact a corpse,
(e) in the case of an image which depicts an act described in subsection (6)(e) of that section, if what is depicted as an animal (or the carcase of an animal) was not in fact an animal (or a carcase).

(5) The defence under subsection (3) is not available if A shows, gives or offers for sale the image to any person who was not also a direct participant in the act depicted.

A man has been jailed after being caught with a photo of a man having sex with a squid.

A court heard the sea creature was clearly dead in the picture, and a man is seen having sexual intercourse with it. (beware, candidate pictures  can be easily found on Google Images)

Prosecutors amended the charge when it was admitted it could have been an octopus.

Andrew Dymond was charged with possessing an image of someone performing an act of intercourse with a dead animal, namely an octopus/squid, which was grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character.

He pleaded guilty to a total of 25 porn charges, including possessing child porn and photographic images featuring other animals.

Dymond was jailed for a total of four months. He was also banned from having any contact with children under the age of 16 and put on the sex offenders register for seven years.

A man admitted possessing extreme pornography when he appeared before Lincoln Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of a total of 17 extreme pornographic images on June 22, 2009.

He also admitted a single charge of possession of 13 indecent images of children on the same date.

Sentence was adjourned for a probation report and sentencing on July 30.

The state has crept further and further into people's homes and their private lives under the cover of pretending to act in our best interest. That needs to change, says Nick Clegg:

During their 13 years in power, the Labour Government developed a dangerous reflex. Faced with whatever problem, legislation increasingly became the standard response. Something needs fixing? Let's pass a new law.

And so, over the last decade, thousands of new rules and regulations have amassed on the statute book. And it is our liberty that has paid the price. Under the cover of pretending to act in our best interest, the state has crept further and further into people's homes and their private lives. That intrusion is disempowering. It needs to change.

The Coalition Government is determined to restore great British freedoms. Major steps have been taken already. ID cards have been halted. Plans are underway to restrict the storage of innocent people's DNA. Schools will no longer be able to take children's fingerprints without their parents consent.

But we need to do more. The culture of state snooping has become so ingrained that we must tackle it with renewed vigour. And, especially in these difficult times, entrepreneurs and businesses need our help. We must ensure we are not tying them up in restrictive red tape.

So today we are taking an unprecedented step. Based on the belief that it is people, not policymakers, who know best, we are asking the people of Britain to tell us how you want to see your freedom restored.

We are calling for your ideas on how to protect our hard won liberties and repeal unnecessary laws. And we want to know how best to scale back excessive regulation that denies businesses the space to innovate. We're hoping for virtual mailbags full of suggestions. Every single one will be read, with the best put to Parliament.

It is a radically different approach. One based on trust. Because it isn't up to government to tell people how to live their lives. Our job is to empower people, giving you the freedom and support to thrive. That belief is right at the heart of this Coalition. And both coalition parties recognise that Whitehall doesn't have a monopoly on the best ideas.

So, finally, after years in the wilderness, freedom is back in fashion. This is our chance to redraw the boundaries between citizen and state. It's your chance to have your say.

...See yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk

Some Early Suggestions

Thanks to emark

Repeal of the Dangerous Pictures Act banning 'Extreme Porn'

repeal-section-63-of-the-cjia-2008-extreme-porn

section-63-of-the-criminal-justice-and-immigration-act-2008

Repeal of the Dangerous Cartoons Act

repeal-laws-on-drawn-pornography

You can vote, and leave comments.

Update: Suggestions

3rd July 2010. Thanks to emark and simcha

TV Censorship

ofcom-and-tv-censorship

Video Censorship

repeal-most-of-the-video-recordings-act

If you thought you could hide your extreme porn stash in a secluded location north of the border – think again. For this week, the Scottish Parliament finally fell into line with its English counterpart south of the border, passing laws - included within the Criminal Justice Bill - making it a criminal offence to possess images that were extreme and pornographic in nature.

Like the English law on this topic, passed in May 2008, the Scottish law will focus on images that are realistic, pornographic and of an extreme nature.

In addition, however, the Scottish law adds an extra clause, bringing within this Bill images which are believed to depict rape or other non-consensual penetrative sexual activity.

...Read the full article

MSPs have been discussing law reforms defined in the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill.

The Scottish Parliament has passed its extreme porn laws. No surprise there.

But on the other hand, the Parliament actually did a decent job of rejecting a bunch of other stupid laws. Sandra White's lap dancing regime got rejected (only the SNP supported it), and attempts to ban all prostitution, and also to introduce the English strict liability offence for using 'controlled' prostitutes were both rejected (only Labour supported them). So some bad, but some good also.

Interestingly, the Police (particularly in the form of ACPOS) were fairly pivotal in providing cover for rejecting the prostitution laws. They basically said they didn't want or need them, and that they might well make things worse, which made it a lot easier for the parties to reject them.

Update: Extreme Lack of Debate

6th July 2010. See also parliament debate from scottish.parliament.uk

There was little debate about extreme pornography in this session but one substantive comment was made.

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): I am sorry to ask to lower the temperature just a little, but I wonder whether the cabinet secretary will say a little more about one of the measures that has had less debate and attention but which involves some contention—the measure that he mentioned on extreme pornography. He will be aware that themeasure that exists in England and Wales is having no effect in reducing the production of genuinely violent or abusive images, but is being used just as a top-up charge in a small number of cases in which the most serious offence is rape or sexual assault, which attract a higher sentence. If we end up in a similar situation—with the charge being used in a similar way in Scotland, as a mere top-up—will we not have to look again at whether it serves any purpose?