(1)It is an offence for a person to have any indecent photograph of a child (meaning in this section a person under the age of 16) in his possession.
(2)Where a person is charged with an offence under subsection (1) above, it shall be a defence for him to prove—
(a)that he had a legitimate reason for having the photograph 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; or
(c)that the photograph was sent to him without any prior request made by him or on his behalf and that he did not keep it for an unreasonable time.
(3)A person shall be liable on summary conviction of an offence under this section to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(4)Sections 1(3), 2(3), 3 and 7 of the M1Protection of Children Act 1978 shall have effect as if any reference in them to that Act included a reference to this section.
(5)Possession before this section comes into force is not an offence.
Marginal Citations