Victory in landmark obscenity trial
HJA client Michael Peacock acquitted
by unanimous jury verdict
6th January 2012
The trial of Michael Peacock for six counts of
distributing obscene DVDs under the Obscene Publications Act 1959
concluded today with an acquittal.
The jury, which had watched large parts of the
‘hard core’ male-on-male DVDs took under 2 hours to find Mr Peacock
not guilty.
Mr Peacock had been advertising the DVDs
online and selling them from his flat in Brixton. Officers from
SCD9 (the former Obscene Publications Squad of the Met) saw the
adverts and operated an undercover test purchase. Six DVD’s
featuring various sex acts including ‘fisting’ and BDSM were deemed
by police to be obscene and Mr Peacock was prosecuted.
Myles Jackman, a solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen, with a
specialist interest in obscenity law, commented: “The jury’s
verdict is a significant victory for common sense suggesting that
the OPA has been rendered irrelevant in the digital age. Normal
jurors did not consider representations of consensual adult
sexuality would deprave and corrupt the viewer.”
Senior Criminal Partner,
Nigel Richardson, acting for Mr Peacock, stated that “from the
outset Michael has displayed an enormous amount of courage in
contesting these charges. The jury’s verdict vindicates his
decision to challenge this arcane and archaic legislation. The
result is also a testament to [HJA crime partner]
Sandra Paul’s persuasive advocacy.”