[LINK] the cat did it

[Roger Clarke]

At 10:14 +1000 9/8/09, Jan Whitaker wrote:
>August 8, 2009 - 5:47PM
>The cat did it. Photo illustration: Greg Newington
...
>Keith Griffin of Jensen Beach is charged with 10 counts of possession
>of child pornography after detectives found more than 1000 images on
>his home computer.
...
>Griffin is being held on $US250,000 bond in the Martin County jail.

The Canberra Times on Sat 8 August 2009 reported that the ACT Chief 
Magistrate, confronted with a contrite possessor of 1,648 photos and 
videos of children under 12 being sexually abused by adult men, gave 
him no gaol time.  (15 months suspended for 2 years, 300 hours of 
community service).

(It's possible that entry on the sex offenders register maye be 
mandatory in the ACT, in which case the magistrate may have imposed a 
lighter sentence because of the substantial impact of a criminal 
record plus entry on that register).

In the absence of active procurement of violence against children (as 
distinct from merely 'creating a market for such images'), and of 
distribution of content, magistrates and judges don't agree with the 
attributed public expectation that 'possession of offending images' 
be a hanging offence.


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW