Police fear that a dangerous precedent has been set which will help lawyers representing sex offenders. The decision not to prosecute was taken by a senior CPS lawyer, whose view would have been endorsed by Director of Public Prosecutions, David Calvert-Smith QC. The controversial gallery is owned by advertising mogul Charles Saatchi, 57.ĭetectives had recommended corporate charges under the Protection of Children Act 1978. The exhibition, entitled 'I am a Camera', features the work of notorious American photographers Nan Goldin and Tierney Gearon, who uses her own children, aged six and four, as models. They reluctantly accepted that some of the other controversial pictures could be categorised as 'contemporary art'. They argued at a meeting with CPS lawyers on Wednesday that such an image on the Inter-net would have automatically led to indecency charges. They showed images of naked and semi-clothed youngsters wearing a variety of animal masks.Ī police raid on the gallery last week sparked a fierce debate between child safety campaigners and the so-called 'liberal lobby' who warned of the dangers of censorship.Īt the centre of the investigation was a particularly graphic shot of a small naked girl lying beneath the legs of a partly clothed older child.ĭetectives believed it had 'clear sexual connotations'. The investigation by Scotland Yard's Obscene Publications Unit into the exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in north London followed four complaints by outraged visitors who claimed the colour pictures were indecent and obscene.
Police have already received letters from paedophiles threatening to appeal against their convictions for possessing similar material. The Crown Prosecution Service decision not to go to court was made despite strong protests from the police.ĭetectives are understood to have warned that a failure to prosecute would send the wrong signals to those in the child sex industry. The gallery that displayed naked pictures of young children in the name of art escaped legal action yesterday.
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