Arrested for possession of Child Pornography

The Protection of Children Act 1978 makes it illegal to create, distribute, or show indecent images of someone under the age of 18. This also includes possessing images with the intent to show somebody else. The maximum penalty for this is 10 years in prison or a fine. In the context of digital media, saving an indecent image to a computer's hard drive is considered to be "making" the image, as it causes a copy to exist which did not exist before. Indecency is to be interpreted by a jury, who should apply the recognised standards of propriety. Possession of such images is also against the Sexual Offences Act 2002 (sections 45 to 51).

 

The levels of abuse are known as the ‘Copine’ scale and are shown below

 

The Copine Scale

Level 1 - Indicative

Non-erotic and non-sexualised pictures showing children in their underwear or swimming costumes, from either commercial sources or family albums. Pictures of children playing in normal settings, in which the context or organisation of pictures by the collector indicates inappropriateness.

Level 2 - Nudist

Pictures of naked or semi-naked children in appropriate nudist settings, and from legitimate sources. Such as photos of children in the bath

Level 3 - Erotica

Covertly taken photographs of children in play areas or other safe environments showing either underwear or varying degrees of nakedness

Level 4 - Posing

Deliberately posed pictures of children fully clothed, partially clothed or naked (where the amount, context and organization suggest sexual interest).

Level 5 - Erotic Posing

Deliberately posed pictures of fully, partially clothed or naked children in sexualised or provocative poses.

Level 6 - Explicit Erotic Posing

Pictures emphasising genital areas, where the child is either naked, partially clothed or fully clothed.

Level 7 - Explicit sexual activity

Pictures that depict touching, mutual and self-masturbation, oral sex and intercourse by a child, not involving an adult.

Level 8 - Assault

Pictures of children being subject to a sexual assault, involving digital touching, involving an adult.

Level 9 - Gross Assault

Grossly obscene pictures of sexual assault, involving penetrative sex, masturbation or oral sex, involving an adult.

Level 10 - Bestiality or Sadistic

Pictures where an animal is involved in some form of sexual behaviour with a child or pictures that show a child being tied, bound, beaten, whipped or otherwise subject to something that implies pain.

 

What to do if arrested

If you are arrested then you should not feel compelled to help the police obtain a nice quick conviction. In such situations, you have a right to inform someone of your arrest. More importantly, you have a right to access free independent legal services when you request them. If this is ever in doubt, inform the police officer that you are allowed help under Section 58(1) of the Police and Crime Evidence Act 1984. Moreover, if you are eventually interviewed in the absence of legal services, you should remember that you neither have to answer the question posed to you nor can you be compelled to do so. You can simply choose to stay silent.

 

Once you request legal representation, they interview you (or continue to try and trick you at an ongoing interview) until you have access to suitable representation. Whilst in custody you have the right to get legal advice, to tell someone where you are, and to get medical help, and to see a copy of the rules the Police must follow (Codes of Practice).

 

After being arrested we would strongly advise you to simply confirm your details and not rise to any of their quips or questions which are designed to solicit an admission of guilt, hence making their quest for a conviction a lot easier, instead simply state that you will not answer any questions until you have received legal guidance. Remember, simply saying “sorry” is classed as an admission of guilt, if you give an investigating officer the slightest chance, they will exploit it to the maximum.

 

If you cannot afford legal representation, you will be offered free and independent legal advice, however, you should not assume that the duty solicitor appointed for you will keep your details private, after all, they have the same paymaster and the solicitor will be extremely familiar (and thereby friendly) with the police officers and not want to cause them any inconvenience. In our opinion, this creates a dangerous situation as regards legal confidentiality. Our representatives are totally independent and would not disclose any part of your conversation with them to the police. If you are seeking alternative legal help, we strongly suggest you use a private solicitor and do not rely on the duty solicitor for reasons already stated.

 

How we can help

We would suggest that you inform the police that you would like professional representation at the very earliest convenience, getting representation after you have already given (or been tricked into) a confession (or terms that may be interpreted as such) causes a multitude of problems. To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.

 

Your caseworker would immediately assign someone to meet with you as soon as possible. Because we are internet-based, we may not have our own actual solicitor in your area and may have to use a local one who is expertly qualified in his field. Their costs for attending may be more than our standard charge, if this is the case then your caseworker will discuss this with you. The solicitor will guide you through all aspects of the arrest and would not carry the same risks to you as using a duty solicitor.

 

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact.