The Government will legislate to make it an offence to possess
pornographic images depicting scenes of extreme sexual violence and
other obscene material. It is already an offence to publish and
distribute such material.
To be covered by the new offence, material would need to be
pornographic, explicit and real or appearing to be real. These will
be objective tests for a jury to decide. It must also involve
intercourse or oral sex with an animal; sexual interference with a
human corpse; or serious violence (meaning violence that appears to
be life threatening or likely to result in serious, disabling
injury).
The proposals were published yesterday as part of the
Government's response to a consultation last August. The
consultation paper noted at the time: "We are not aware of any
western jurisdiction which prohibits simple possession of extreme
material."
The material to be covered by the ban is already illegal to
publish and distribute in the UK under the Obscene Publications Act
(OPA) 1959 – but it is not illegal to view under current laws. The
Government said its accessibility from abroad via the internet is
increasing.
There will be defences where someone can prove he had a
legitimate reason for having an offending image; where he had not
seen it and did not know or suspect it to be illegal; and where it
was sent to him unsolicited and he did not keep it for an
unreasonable time.
The proposed offence outlines a maximum penalty of three years'
imprisonment for possession of material depicting serious violence
and a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment for possession of
material in the other categories to reflect the seriousness of the
offences shown or depicted in the material.
The Government is also proposing that the maximum penalty for
the offences of publication, distribution and possession for gain
committed under the Obscene Publications Acts will be increased
from three years to five years' imprisonment.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said the proposals had the
support of various organisations, including women's and children's
groups and police forces. In addition, a petition signed by around
50,000 people objecting to extreme internet sites promoting
violence against women in the name of sexual gratification was
presented to Parliament.
"The vast majority of people find these forms of violent and
extreme pornography deeply abhorrent," he said.
The petition presented to Parliament was started by Liz
Longhurst after the brutal murder of her daughter. Thirty-one
year-old Jane Longhurst, a special needs teacher, was raped and
strangled with a pair of tights by a male acquaintance in 2003.
Graham Coutts, an amateur musician, attacked her just hours after
surfing the web to feed his alleged obsession with necrophilia and
asphyxial sex. Coutts stored her naked body for 35 days before
trying to burn it in woods. He was convicted in February 2004 and
sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.
The Government said it aims to legislate as soon as
Parliamentary time allows. The new offence will apply to England
and Wales, and plans are being made to extend it to Northern
Ireland. The consultation last August was held jointly with the
Scottish Executive which will announce its response in due
course.
