Not the BBC Presenter in question...
... according to Gary himself.
shareEven if so, it was legal as the paid person was 17 at the time.
shareYeah, I agree with that - also what kind of parents don't know their kid is running an onlyfans setup from their room, suddenly have £thousands to spend and are developing a crack habit?!
If they were never underage, there isn't even the Schofield angle...
I read somewhere that the selling and buying of nude pictures of persons under 18 is illegal.
shareIn the UK?
shareYes. Supposedly the law is still in reference to the days of child pornography when teens didn't share nude selfies with each other on social media.
shareYes. The age of sexual consent remains 16 in the UK. But the Sexual Offences Act (2003) made it illegal to make, possess, distribute, &c, sexual images of anyone under the age of 18.
And, yes, we can all think of instances where applying these laws wouldn't make a great deal of sense: a 16 year old and a 19 year old in an entirely legal sexual relationship could theoretically both be charged with child pornography offences if the 16 year old sent a lewd photograph of themselves to the 19 year old...
... But the Crown Prosecution Service can and does exercise discretion -- to be charged with an offence, there must not only be sufficient evidence but prosecution needs to be deemed 'in the public interest'. So these are not the people the law is intended to go after.
Interesting. It's a weird thing these discrepancies in law.
Mentioned Schofield above but taking your 19/16 year old thing further, the guy could be a 60 year old and have a consentual, perfectly legal relationship with a 16 year old and everyone would just have to suck it up (much like Schofield).
Yet if the same guy pays another 17 youngster for pics, which they willingly supply, he's off to jail.
However, going back to Schofield, I don't think there's anything legally compromising re him familiarising himself with a minor, i.e. under 16, as long as he didn't physically consummate the relationship until later.
Yes, however in the UK exploitation of minors is very common. Children are often taken advantage of from a young age. Many choose this to escape parental abuse and poverty. British culture is kinda weird.
share