52 Indecent photographs etc. of children.S
(1)Any person who—
(a)takes, or permits to be taken, any indecent photograph of a child (meaning, in this section a person under the age of 16);
(b)distributes or shows such an indecent photograph;
(c)has in his possession such an indecent photograph with a view to its being distributed or shown by himself or others: or
(d)publishes or causes to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows such an indecent photograph, or intends to do so
shall be guilty of an offence under this section.
(2)In proceedings under this section a person is to be taken as having been a child at any material time if it appears from the evidence as a whole that he was then under the age of 16.
(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 289B of the M1Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (at the passing of this Act £1,000) or to both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both.
(4)For the purposes of this section, a person is to be regarded as distributing an indecent photograph if he parts with possession of it to, or exposes or offers it for acquisition by, another person.
(5)Where a person is charged with an offfence under subsection (1)(b) or (c) above, it shall be a defence for him to prove—
(a)that he had a legitimate reason for distributing or showing the photograph or (as the case may be) having it in his possession; or
(b)that he had not himself seen the photograph and did not know, nor had any cause to suspect, it to be indecent.
(6)In paragraph 2 of the Schedule to the M2 Visiting Forces Act 1952 (offences against the person in the case of which a member of a visiting force is in certain circumstances not liable to be tried by a United Kingdom court) the word “ and” immediately preceding sub-paragraph (b)(iii) shall be omitted and after the said sub-paragraph (b)(iii) there shall be added—
“(iv)section 52(1)(a) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.”
(7)References in the M3Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (except in sections 171 and 368 thereof) [F1and in Part III of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (children in need of compulsory measures of care)] to the offences mentioned in Schedule 1 to that Act shall include an offence under subsection (1)(a) above.
(8)In this section—
(a)references to an indecent photograph include an indecent film, a copy of an indecent photograph or film and an indecent photograph comprised in a film;
(b)a photograph (including one comprised in a film) shall, if it shows a child and is indecent, be treated for all purposes of this section as an indecent photograph of a child;
(c)references to a photograph include the negative as well as the positive version;
(d)“film” includes any form of video-recording.
Textual Amendments
F1Words inserted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:2), s. 170(1) Sch. 15 para. 89
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1The text of ss. 16, 18(11), 51(7) and 52(6) is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
Marginal Citations