A London Crown Court judge has said that stronger penalties are
needed to control those responsible for illegal pornography on the
internet after sentencing a French national based in Hove, East
Sussex, to 30 months imprisonment in connection with his US-hosted
commercial porn site.
Currently, UK law provides for a maximum sentence of 36 months
for illegal internet porn. Judge Stephen Robins told the accused,
Stephane Perrin, 29, that the maximum was fixed before on-line porn
became a serious issue but that “things have moved on.” He added
that longer sentences are needed to eliminate such “channels of
depravity.”
Judge Robins noted that Perrin had made profits of £26,000 from
his activities. He observed that the Court of Appeal may see fit to
give further guidance to sentences for internet porn but that, for
now, “the message must go out that those responsible for the
publication of internet porn can expect to be dealt with severely
by the courts in this country."
Under current UK law, Perrin’s profits could only be confiscated
if he had a minimum of two prior convictions. His web site is said
to be continuing in operation.
