The
possession of actual photographs or images that appear to be
photographs of sexual child abuse is punishable by up to 10 years
in jail. The Government wants to create a new offence for generated
images which would be punishable by three years in jail and an
unlimited fine.
"The ease with which images can be circulated or altered brings
fresh challenges in combating the availability of child sex abuse
images. It’s critical that the law stays one-step ahead and nowhere
is this more important than protecting children from harm,” said
Home Secretary John Reid, introducing a consultation on the new
law. "The Government is determined to do all we can to protect
children from abuse."
The new law will relate to cartoon, computer-generated pictures,
animations, drawings or actual photos altered so that they do not
appear enough like photos to fall under existing law's reference to
pseudo photographs.
The
Home Office says that it has been told by police and children's
organisations that such images are increasingly used, and that they
are often discovered in raids alongside photographs.
Police are not only not permitted to prosecute people for
possessing these images, they are not allowed to confiscate them or
remove them from circulation.
The Home Office said that the three year jail term was designed
to penalise the proposed offence in proportion to the existing one.
"This will place the offence in the sentencing framework below
offences for possessing actual photographs of child sexual abuse,"
said a Home Office statement.
The consultation asks interested parties for comments on three
options. The first is to amend the Child Protection Act, the second
is to create a new law and the third is to take no action.
The exercise is a joint consultation involving England and
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
"I am aware of concerns about the growing market for fantasy
imagines, cartoons and drawings such as those which could be
produced on a computer, depicting child sexual abuse," said Cathy
Jamieson, minister for justice in the Scottish Executive. "[These]
images would not currently be covered by law and could now be
easily circulated via the internet or mobile phones. It is only
right that as technology progresses that we ensure the law also
moves forward to maximise protection for our young people."
