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Probably the most prevalent offence being dealt with in the criminal courts is possessing or making indecent images of children. Many people who are prosecuted for this offence have never been involved in the criminal justice system before.
At Hodge Jones and Allen, our sexual offence lawyers have represented hundreds of clients accused of this offence. Here, you can expect to be treated sympathetically and without judgement, whatever you are alleged to have done. We understand that this is not just a criminal law problem – in our multi-disciplinary practice we can help you with employment, family and reputational issues that arise from being accused of such offences. If you feel you do have a problem, for instance with sex addiction, we can get the right help for you, to assist you and to help your case.
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Indecent images are sexual videos or photographs of people under 18. They are prosecuted under two old pieces of legislation: section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (making) and section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (possession). Neither of these laws is really fit for purpose today, designed as they were for physical photographs or films. ‘Making’ is now much the same as possession because accessing an image on a computer is treated as making it.
A ‘pseudo-photograph’ is an amalgam of a photograph of an adult and a child – for instance a child’s face grafted onto an adult’s body. These are also unlawful.
There are a number of specific defences to these charges, such as that the images were held for academic study, but these rarely apply. More usually the question is whether the person accused was responsible for the images or knew he had them.
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You may know nothing about the images which have been found on your computer. We have dealt with many contested cases and successfully run most possible defences. Is it possible that someone else was viewing unlawful images on your computer? Have you been bulk downloading pornography or even sharing innocent files which contained child images you didn’t want or ask for?
There may be a number of reasons why indecent images are found on your computer and we will explore them. This will most likely involve instructing our own forensic experts who will analyse the devices with greater accuracy and depth than the prosecution. We have the experience and know how to liaise with these experts, based on our knowledge and expertise and knowledge in how computer system operate.
We have successfully run these arguments in a number of cases, causing charges against our clients to be dropped.
Some of our clients accept they have a problem that they need to admit to. Or their ‘digital fingerprints’ unarguably link them to the images. If this is the case we will run your case in a different way.
Now it’s a matter of damage limitation and mitigation. We will talk to you about why this has happened and put you in touch with the right therapists and experts; and we will make sure that you make admissions early and take full advantage of what this brings. The good news is that a prison sentence can nearly always be avoided if the case is handled properly.
We will also work on managing your public exposure and help you, both before court and in the years to come, with the ongoing consequences a conviction – dealing with the sex offenders’ register, Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, and restrictions on your working life. These are areas improperly understood and often ignored by lawyers who are not specialist indecent image solicitors.
One of the difficult things about being accused of an indecent image offence is that the police investigation alone can take many months, because of the need to analyse computers and devices. We will help you through that difficult time, but no defence lawyer can speed it up.
Police will start an investigation because:
Sometimes our clients will contact us because they think they are under investigation. More often the police have already attended and searched their homes and taken away all the computers, mobiles, hard-drives and memory sticks that they can find. Some of these will be sent for full analysis, others returned quite quickly.
The police will either arrest and interview at this stage or invite you in for an interview once the analysis is complete. We would rather be involved in the initial interview but can also take the case over from non-specialist legal advisors.
Many sexual offences now involve a use of the internet or an online presence. We specialise in dealing with these allegations with sensitivity and an expert knowledge of the law, the circumstances in which they arise, and the technology involved.
We have dealt with the full range of such offences, including:
These are generally images of bestiality or extreme sado-masochism. In the leading case of R v Walsh we persuaded the court that the S &M images found on our client’s computer were not extreme enough to be criminal, thus effectively limiting the scope of this offence. Even the courts often don’t really understand this offence and consider punishments in line with indecent image cases – we think this is a much less serious offence and usually manage to persuade the court of that.
Cartoons featuring sexual images of what appear to be children. Many people don’t know this is an offence. Manga or anime type Japanese cartoons may fall into this category. Police will rarely specifically investigate this offence, but may find and prosecute these images when looking for other material.
There are two major cases on the Obscene Publications Act – the Lady Chatterley case and our case of R v GS which dealt with the definition of ‘publishing’. This offence is rarely prosecuted, but we have represented a number of clients prosecuted under it for obscene writings.
This is a relatively new offence usually arising from internet ‘chat’. In some cases ‘paedophile hunters’ and extortionists pose as being young people and we are ready to deal with the issues that arise from such situations.
Involves communicating with an underage and the meeting or trying to meet them. Again, clients we represent are often actually dealing with a police officer or freelance ‘investigator’.
A new offence usually involving posting sexual images of a person without their consent and often arising out of a failed relationship. Evidence in these cases is often strong and our clients need good advice about whether or not to contest the case.
We acted for a television personality accused of having indecent images on his computer. He denied any knowledge of them. We looked at the dates and times of the images and could show that other people had used the device at around these times. A careful piecing together of different strands of evidence meant that he was acquitted by a jury of this life-changing allegation.
Our client in this case was a young man who had flirtatious text conversations with a 15 year old girl. He was charged with grooming. We used expert evidence about the way in which young people communicate on line to show that they never had any real intention to meet and he was found not guilty in record time.
Our client was selling hard core gay videos and was prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act. In a high profile trial, a Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors partner persuaded a jury that the graphic material was not likely to ‘deprave and corrupt’. Our client was acquitted.
We acted for a client who regularly obtained large amounts of pornography from a file sharing site. Sometimes it contained indecent images which he didn’t want and deleted, but continued to get material from the same source. This was a ground-breaking case in which the question for the court was whether he was intentionally obtaining the illegal images.
Our top ranking team have years of experience representing the innocent. We stand up to the prosecution who will always be represented by an experienced solicitor or barrister. We know how to fight and win cases.
Representing you at the Police Station or in Court If you need urgent representation call us today. Share a few details with us and we’ll let you know how we can help you.
If you are calling outside our offices hours (9:30am to 5:30pm) call our free phone 24 telephone 0844 8480 222. There will always be someone at the other end of the telephone to assist you.
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