Possession of indecent photographs
/ images of children
It is important to note that the possession of material
depicting indecent images of children is a serious criminal offence.
Section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act provides:
It is an offence for a person
- To have any indecent photograph or pseudo photograph of a child
in his or her possession
Where a person is charged with an offence under this subsection
of the Act, it shall be a defence for him to prove
- That he had a legitimate reason for having the photograph in his
possession or
- That he had not himself seen the photograph and did not know or
have any cause to suspect it to be indecent or
- That the photograph was sent to him without any prior request made
by him or on his behalf and that he did not keep it for an unreasonable
time.
Making and Distributing indecent photographs / images of children
The Protection of Children Act 1978, section 1 provides:
It is an offence for a person
- To take or permit to be taken, or to make any indecent photograph
or pseudo photograph of a child or
- To distribute or show such indecent photographs or pseudo photographs
or
- To have in his possession such indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs
with a view to their being distributed or shown by himself/herself
or others or
- To publish or cause to be published any advertisement likely to
be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows
such indecent photographs or pseudo photographs or intends to do so
For the purpose of this Act , a person is to be regarded as distributing
an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph if he parts with the image,
or exposes or offers the image for acquisition by another person.
Where a person is charged with an offence under
this subsection it shall be a defence for him/her to prove
- That he/she had a legitimate reason for distributing or showing
the photographs or pseudo photographs or having them in his or her
possession.
- That he had not himself seen the photographs or pseudo photographs
and did not know, nor had any cause to suspect them to be indecent.
Definitiion of a pseudo photograph / image: One that
is created by image manipulation software so that the overall appearance
of any figure is that of a child. Photographs are defined to include
data held on a computer that can be resolved into an image.
> Data Clinic Case Studies
- Read about some of the computer
misuse cases the Data Clinic have been involved
in
> ACPO Guidelines - These are
guidelines published by the Association of Chief Police Officers regarding
Good Practice
for Computer based electronic evidence
> General guidelines on the correct
seizure
of computer media for investigative purposes
> Frequently Asked Questions regarding
computer
evidence acquisition and investigation
> Engaging
the services of the Data Clinic for computer investigation
> Back
to main computer
forensics page
The Data Clinic offer computer
investigation for both prosecution and defence.
For further information please call us on 0870 140 2525
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