A computer administrator has been jailed

[Churchill]

SA is correct here. That's why AtW likes squirrels.

That's why squirrels like AtW - Shirley?

[Bagpuss]

I know this is the one topic you're not meant to say anything on, other than "burn the witch", but...

I've always thought that being imprisoned for having images on your PC seemed a bit...harsh?

I appreciate the "it's people like that who perpetuate the child p*rn market" argument, and I guess anything we can do to stop that is good....but isn't it good that these people are sorting out their sick "urges" by using photos already out there, than doing it to real kids?
And let the police concentrate on the people making the photos?

or have studies shown that this kind of thing actually leads to them doing it to real kids?

Fortunately I dont know a lot on this subject.

Obviously in this case, half a million photos, the guy has clearly gone way past any point of no return and all that...but that result about the cartoon image....I just genuinely wasn't sure about that.

I'd ask you which of these levels of material would you find acceptable to find on someones PC?
Bearing in mind these people who go to prison usually have multitudes of level 5 images, not exactly something you would accidently stumble across on the internet over and over and over again. All this talk of thought crime and possibility of some of these pictures being of 17 year olds, come on get real!
Anyone with a massive collection of this stuff would love to participate in the scenes they are wanking over and given half the chance they will.


Level 1 Images depicting erotic posing with no sexual activity
Level 2 Sexual activity between children or solo masturbation by a child.
Level 3 Non-penetrative sexual activity between adults and children.
Level 4 Penetrative sexual activity between children and adults.
Level 5 Sadism or bestiality

The idea of prison is to punnish wrongdoing, to protect morality, and hopefully rehabilitate. If you don't believe it requires punnishment then you must not believe it is wrong or immoral to act like this.

[EternalOptimist]

The idea of prison is to punnish wrongdoing, to protect morality, and hopefully rehabilitate. If you don't believe it requires punnishment then you must not believe it is wrong or immoral to act like this.

Therefore, if one of these people is not sent to jail it means the judge and the legal establishment do not believe it is wrong or immoral to act like this?
Most of them are not sent to jail.

I say concentrate on the people who are doing it and organising it.

[Lockhouse]

I do however think, and this is an aside to the central point, that having children is very good for the average human being in that it teaches us to love and understand beings that are weak and vulnerable.

I think what this proves is that you get all mushy when you talk about your kids

[expat]

All this talk of thought crime <...>, come on get real!
Anyone with a massive collection of this stuff would love to participate in the scenes they are winking over and given half the chance they will.

So basically you are saying that you would punish someone for a crime other than the one they have been found guilty of, on the grounds that "given half a chance they will" commit that other crime too.

That is a very slippery slope.

[OwlHoot]

.. All this talk of .. the possibility of some of these pictures being of 17 year olds, come on get real! ..

That was me and in fact my point, which it seems you missed, was that in theory *all* the guy's pictures could have been of 17 year olds. But I thought it was abundantly clear I didn't believe that possibility for a moment.

I was making what seemed a valid and serious point, which I'll repeat as your concentration must have strayed after three lines of "all this talk". The Government's over-zealousness and stupidity has probably made the problem of child porn worse.

[EternalOptimist]

If you've still got those piccies of Sam Fox from the Sun when she was 16, then you're a sex criminal and deserve to be incinerated...

Or those old copies of that hardcore publication Mayfair....

And all those who just had a mental image of Sams jugs should protect the public morals and turn yourself in right now.

[NotAllThere]

Therefore, if one of these people is not sent to jail it means the judge and the legal establishment do not believe it is wrong or immoral to act like this?...

There are other remedies than jail, some of which are more effective in preventing reoffending, and also cost the tax payer less. But they're not terribly popular with the voting public who think jail is the only punishment worthwhile, even though it is demonstrably not the most effective remedy in many cases.

Bring back the birch.

[Diver]

There are other remedies than jail, some of which are more effective in preventing reoffending, and also cost the tax payer less. But they're not terribly popular with the voting public who think jail is the only punishment worthwhile, even though it is demonstrably not the most effective remedy in many cases.

Bring back the birch.

Sharpens his Green river knife

[Bagpuss]

There are other remedies than jail, some of which are more effective in preventing reoffending, and also cost the tax payer less. But they're not terribly popular with the voting public who think jail is the only punishment worthwhile, even though it is demonstrably not the most effective remedy in many cases.

Bring back the birch.

How about castration for anyone found with this material? Would be a win win scenario.