Currently, UK law provides for a maximum sentence of 36 months for illegal internet porn. Judge Stephen Robins told the accused, Stephane Perrin, 29, that the maximum was fixed before on-line porn became a serious issue but that “things have moved on.” He added that longer sentences are needed to eliminate such “channels of depravity.”
Judge Robins noted that Perrin had made profits of £26,000 from his activities. He observed that the Court of Appeal may see fit to give further guidance to sentences for internet porn but that, for now, “the message must go out that those responsible for the publication of internet porn can expect to be dealt with severely by the courts in this country."
Under current UK law, Perrin’s profits could only be confiscated if he had a minimum of two prior convictions. His web site is said to be continuing in operation.