THE Supreme Court has turned down an appeal by the Attorney-general for a heavier sentence on a man found in possession of child pornography.
The initial court decision last year imposed a £1,000 on the 45-year-old man.
The AG’s office appealed the decision, seeking tougher sentencing based on the maximum penalties allowed for such crimes, a 10-year prison sentence or £25,000 fine.
But the Supreme Court has now rejected the appeal, citing the defendant’s lack of previous convictions as well as the fact that he had possessed the material without distributing it.
Last September, the authorities had been notified by Interpol in Germany that child sex abuse images were being distributed through a specific site, which was being accessed by someone in Cyprus.
Following investigations, the police located a 45-year-old man a month later and after raiding his home, found 13 compact discs containing images of child sex abuse.
These included photographs and short video clips of children engaging in sexual activities, which were downloaded from the internet and saved on the discs.
Police determined that the man possessed the material but had not passed it on in any way.
The court later took into consideration the 45-year-old’s clean criminal record, his immediate admission to the offence, his repentance and the fact that his crime was not widespread in Cyprus.
The AG’s appeal referred to legislation, “the aim of which is mainly to protect children from exploitation as an object of lust. It basically seeks the protection of minors who are made to participate in such activities, as well as children who become victims to paedophiles, who watch these images and desire to harass children.
By searching and possessing such pornographic material on the internet, it encourages those inspired by sexually exploiting minors to continue their work.”
The Chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee, DISY’s Ionas Nicolaou, yesterday told the Mail the courts’ hands were tied because police couldn’t prove if such material was being distributed or not. Chapter 17 of the Constitution strictly forbids the violation of personal data, which means that even if someone is distributing child porn, the police are not allowed even to check their personal electronic correspondence, and they are certainly not allowed to use it as evidence in court.
DISY has for a long a time been pressing for an amendment that would allow the monitoring of communication when it comes to serious crimes, such as murder, drug and human trafficking, and child pornography or paedophilia.
Years of discussions at the House have reached a deadlock due to left-wing party AKEL’s strong opposition to the amendment.
AKEL believes such an amendment would be a violation of civil liberties and personal privacy.
Without AKEL’s consent, the amendment cannot go ahead as there is not sufficient support to send it to the Plenum.
“We are one deputy short from having Chapter 17 amended. Without that, no change can be made,” Nicolaou explained.
“After examining the matter, we have realised that the amendment is necessary. The chapter remains as it is and offers immunity to those in Cyprus who are distributing child porn, because the court can only charge defendants for possession.”
