R v Collier (Edward John)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 11 June 2004 |
| Neutral Citation | [2004] EWCA Crim 1411 |
| Date | 11 June 2004 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) |
COURT OF APPEAL Criminal Division
Before Lord Justice Hooper, Mr Justice Keith and Judge Andrew Patience, QC
Crime - defendant charged with possession of indecent photographs of child - defence relating to required knowledge
It was a defence for a defendant charged with possession of an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child to prove that he had not seen the photograph and that although he knew or had cause to suspect that it was indecent he did not know or suspect that it was of a child.
The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, so held when allowing an appeal by Edward John Collier against his conviction on a plea of guilty on May 14, 2003 at Snaresbrook Crown Court before Judge Medawar, QC, of 11 counts of possession of an indecent pseudo-photograph of a child, contrary to section 160(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, as amended by sections 84(4)(a) and (b), 86(1) and 168(3) of and Schedule 11 to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and section 41(3) of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000.
The police had seized video tapes and CD-Roms of adult homosexual pornography which included advertisements depicting child pornography.
Section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, as amended, provides: "(1) It is an offence for a person to have any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child in his possession.
"(2) Where a person is charged with an offence under subsection (1) above, it shall be a defence for him to prove -… (b) that he had not himself seen the photograph or pseudo-photograph and did not know, nor had any cause to suspect, it to be indecent…"
Mr Silas Reid, assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals, for the appellant; Mr Christopher Amor for the prosecution.
LORD JUSTICE HOOPER, giving the reserved judgment of the court, said that the defendant had pleaded guilty after a ruling by the trial judge that for the defence in section 16)(2)(b) to succeed it was necessary for the defendant to show that he had not himself seen the pseudo-photograph and did not know or have any cause to suspect it to be indecent.
At the conclusion of argument before their Lordships, Mr Amor accepted that the trial judge was wrong. He accepted that the defence in section 160(2)(b) would be made out if a defendant proved that he had not seen the indecent photograph and that he had no cause to suspect it to be a photograph of a child.
It seemed to their Lordships...
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Craig Mcleod Mcmurdo V Her Majesty's Advocate
...and Wales had interpreted the equivalent legislation (Criminal Justice Act 1988, s 160(2)) as imposing a legal burden (R v Collier [2005] 1 WLR 843 at para 18; AG’s Reference No.1 of 2004 [2004] 1 WLR 2111; R v Leonard [2012] 2 Crim App R 12 at paras 8 and 9). In any event, the sheriff’s di......
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Offences Relating to Internet or Computer Content
...that image was sent to a person unsolicited and that the person did not keep it for an unreasonable time thereafter. In R v Collier [2004] EWCA Crim 1411, the appellant successfully appealed his conviction for 11 counts of possession of an indecent image contrary to section 160 to which he ......
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...that only lawenforcement agencies, or those connected with such agencies, could come within ‘legitimate reason’.94 R v Collier [2004] EWCA Crim 1411 at THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE & PROOF 45BALANCING SUBSTANTIVE AND EVIDENTIAL LAW TO SAFEGUARD CHILDREN FROM ABUSEknowledge is somet......
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Table of Cases
...32–33 R v Clayton and Halsey [1963] 1 QB 163, [1962] 3 WLR 815, [1962] 3 All ER 500, (1962) 46 Cr App R 450 166, 168, 174 R v Collier [2004] EWCA Crim 1411, [2005] 1 WLR 843, [2005] 1 Cr App R 9, (2004) 101(27) LSG 29 146 R v Coulson [2013] EWCA Crim 1026, [2014] 1 WLR 1119, [2013] 4 All ER......
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...appellant knew ofthe exact nature of the eight DVDs at the bottom of the bag. It was sufficient67 Above n. 66 at [15], per King J.68 [2004] EWCA Crim 1411, [2005] 1 Cr App R 9.69 Ibid. at [20], per Hooper LJ; following Atkins v DPP; Goodland v DPP [2000] 2 CrApp R 248 at 262, per Brown LJ.......