The defendant appealed his conviction of possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children. The images had been deleted, and were irrecoverable, but they had originally been viewed through a program which created a smaller additional image for each original. Though the thumbnail images were no longer accessible without the original, they remained on the … Continue reading Porter, Regina v: CACD 16 Mar 2006
The defendant downloaded indecent images of children onto his computer, and printed them out. He was convicted of making new images by virtue of creating copies on his disc by downloading, by displaying them on his screen, and by printing them out. Held: He had been properly convicted. Such creation of new copies was clearly … Continue reading Regina v Bowden: CACD 10 Nov 1999
An individual who faced criminal charges sued the CPS for libel, misfeasance in public office, and breach of the Human Rights Act, in respect of a public announcement that those charges were to be brought. The court was asked now to decide whether the announcement of the charge included meanings suggesting (as was denied) that … Continue reading Bukovsky v Crown Prosecution Service: QBD 28 Jul 2016
The defendant had been convicted of repeatedly raping a 12 week old girl, and other sexual offences against young girls. After pleading guilty, the judge had passed a life sentence setting the minimum term at six years which was lower because of the guilty plea. His partner had been convicted as an accomplice but took … Continue reading French and Webster, Regina v (Attorney General’s Reference No 14 and No 15 of 2006): CACD 8 Jun 2006
The court set down the matters to be considered when sentencing for the downloading of pornographic images of children from the Internet or otherwise, and in particular where lay the custody threshold. The further distribution of images was a severely aggravating factor, as could be the degree of obscenity the age and number of children … Continue reading Regina v Wild; Regina v Jefferson: CACD 4 Jul 2001
As regards the offence of making indecent photographs of children, any intention of the defendant was irrelevant as to whether the photographs themselves were indecent. The defendant said he had obtained the images without any indecent intent, but only because they had a high photographic quality. The situation was different from that which obtained on … Continue reading Regina v Smethurst: CACD 13 Apr 2001
[2016] EWCA Crim 1053 Bailii Criminal Justice Act 1988 160(1), Protection of Children Act 1978 1(1)(a) England and Wales Crime Updated: 20 January 2022; Ref: scu.567778
For possession of an indecent image of a child to be proved, it was necessary to establish some knowledge of its existence. Images stored without the defendant’s knowledge by browser software in a hidden cache, of which he was also unaware, were not such, and a conviction was quashed. The situation was akin to a … Continue reading Atkins v Director of Public Prosecutions; Goodland v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 8 Mar 2000
