Court of Appeal
| Author | Adam Jackson |
| Published date | 01 February 2018 |
| Date | 01 February 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0022018318762892 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
The Journal of Criminal Law
2018, Vol. 82(1) 11–13
Court of Appeal
ª The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0022018318762892
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Sexual Harm Prevention Orders:
Appropriate Restrictions on Internet
Access and the Use of Digital Devices
R v Parsons; Morgan [2017] EWCA Crim 2163
On the 27 April 2017, Stuart Morgan (SM) pleaded guilty to five offences. Counts 1–3 involved the of
making indecent photographs of a child contrary to s. 1(1)(a) Protection of Children Act 1978 and related
to over 900 moving images of a child covering categories A, B and C (for further information of
categorisation of images, see Sentencing Council, Sexual Offences Definitive Guidelines; Indecent
Photographs of Children, p. 76). Count 4 concerned possession of an extreme pornographic image
contrary to s. 63(1) Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and count 5 concerned possession of
a prohibited image of a child (an indecent cartoon image) contrary to ss. 66(1) and 66(2) Coroners and
Justice Act 2009. The indictment covered a period from 2002 to 2017 and it was noted that there was
‘evidence of systematic storage and organisation of the collection’ (at [44]) and that SM’s ‘lifestyle was
isolated and revolved around his computer’ (at [46]).
SM received full credit for his guilty plea and was sentenced to a 36-month community order with a
requirement that he attend a Community Sex Offenders programme. In addition, SM was made subject
to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for a period of five years which, inter alia, prevented him
‘from using or having access to a computer except in a public place such as a library or under the
supervision of the police or a probation officer as part of the community programme’ (at [52]). The judge
imposed the restriction has formed the view than SM was ‘unlikely to make much of a recovery until he
started living a real life rather than an online life’ (at [51]).
Hayden Parsons (HP) pleaded guilty to one count of making indecent photographs of a child and to
one count of possessing a class B drug. The first...
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