HC Deb 25 June 1998 vol 314 cc594-5W
Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted in England and Wales during the last 12 months for trading in child pornography. [47107]

Mr. Michael

Prosecutions for trading in child pornography cannot be identified separately on the Home Office Court Proceedings database from other child pornography offences. The information available on child pornography is given in the table.

Number of persons prosecuted in 1996 for child pornography offences
England and Wales
Total prosecutions
Offence Males Females
Take, make, distribute, show, possess with intent to distribute or show, or publish any advertisement conveying the distribution of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children1 80 0
Possession of an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child2 122 3
1 Protection of Children Act 1978 Sec 1,6 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sec 84
2 Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec 160 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sec 84(4) and 86(1)