Jury acquit HJA client for possession of supposedly extreme porn
Press Release
8th August 2012
Boris Johnson's former fire aide Simon Walsh was acquitted today
of possession of "extreme porn" depicting pictures of consensual
adult sexual activities discussed in “Fifty Shades of Grey” and
possession of an indecent image of a children received via an
unsolicited email.
Hodge Jones and Allen LLP acted for Simon Walsh, who was charged
with possession of extreme pornography and possession of an
indecent image of a child. Simon Walsh, 49, is an Alderman of
the City of London, Magistrate and barrister specialising in
actions against the police. He was also Mayoral Appointee to the
London Fire Authority until sacked last year when these charges
arose.
Walsh was charged with two counts of possessing fisting porn and
three counts of possessing urethral sounding porn. These images
depicted legal sex acts between consenting adults. He was acquitted
by the jury of all charges he faced.
Samira Noor-Khan, Partner at Hodge Jones & Allen LLP,
commented: “This case highlights the dreadful state of affairs
where people can be prosecuted for possessing images of adults
legally participating in consensual sexual acts. Simon’s
personal life was placed under extreme scrutiny and his career
ruined on the basis of a handful of images found on his email
server. Cases of this nature must be defended robustly to
ensure no-one is convicted of possessing such images”
Myles Jackman, consultant at Hodge Jones & Allen LLP
commented: "An unsolicited picture was found unopened on Simon's
email server. Consequently he had private life scrutinised in Court
and the media. He was fired by Boris Johnson. He risked going to
prison.
“Fortunately the jury were able to apply their common sense and
reject an intrusive and unfounded prosecution of material depicting
private and consensual sexual acts between adults”.
Notes to Editors:
Possession of extreme pornography was criminalised by section 63
of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/4/section/63
Background on the law here: http://www.backlash-uk.org.uk/wp/?page_id=7
For more information, please contact:
Samira Noor-Khan – skhan@hja.net / Myles Jackman mjackman@hja.net - Hodge Jones &
Allen LLP – 020 7874 8300