Search Legislation

Serious Crime Act 2015

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Changes over time for: Section 69

 Help about opening options

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Serious Crime Act 2015, Section 69. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

69Possession of paedophile manualE+W+N.I.

This section has no associated Explanatory Notes

(1)It is an offence to be in possession of any item that contains advice or guidance about abusing children sexually.

(2)It is a defence for a person (D) charged with an offence under this section—

(a)to prove that D had a legitimate reason for being in possession of the item;

(b)to prove that—

(i)D had not read, viewed or (as appropriate) listened to the item, and

(ii)D did not know, and had no reason to suspect, that it contained advice or guidance about abusing children sexually; or

(c)to prove that—

(i)the item was sent to D without any request made by D or on D's behalf, and

(ii)D did not keep it for an unreasonable time.

(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a)on summary conviction in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [F1the general limit in a magistrates’ court] or to a fine, or to both;

(b)on summary conviction in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;

(c)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to a fine, or to both.

(4)Proceedings for an offence under this section may be brought—

(a)in England and Wales, only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(b)in Northern Ireland, only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(5)In England and Wales, the following provisions of the Protection of Children Act 1978 apply in relation to prohibited items as they apply in relation to indecent photographs of children (within the meaning of that Act)—

(a)section 4 (entry, search and seizure);

(b)the Schedule (forfeiture of photographs).

(6)In Northern Ireland, the following provisions of the Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/1047 (N.I. 17)) apply in relation to prohibited items as they apply in relation to indecent photographs of children (within the meaning of that Order)—

(a)Article 4 (entry, search and seizure);

(b)the Schedule (forfeiture of photographs).

(7)Schedule 3 makes special provision in connection with the operation of subsection (1) in relation to persons providing information society services within the meaning of that Schedule.

(8)In this section—

  • abusing children sexually” means doing anything that constitutes—

    (a)

    an offence under Part 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, or under Part 2, 3 or 4 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1769 (N.I. 2)), against a person under 16, [F2or]

    (b)

    an offence under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978, or under Article 3 of the Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, involving indecent photographs (but not pseudo-photographs),[F3or]

    (c)

    [F4an offence under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (human trafficking) committed with a view to exploitation that consists of or includes behaviour within section 3(3) of that Act (sexual exploitation),]

    or doing anything outside England and Wales or Northern Ireland that would constitute such an offence if done in England and Wales or Northern Ireland;

  • item” includes anything in which information of any description is recorded;

  • prohibited item” means an item within subsection (1).

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open The Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources