R v Suleymaan Ar'raa-ee
[2024] EWCA Crim 1287
R v Ethan Allon
14 February 2023
[2023] EWCA Crim 204
Court of Appeal
A teenager shared a video of himself and a younger girl having sex. He was convicted, and the judge wrongly added a requirement to register as a sex offender. The appeal court said the judge shouldn't have done this and that the law only applies this registration if the person is 18 or older *when they committed the crime*, not when they are caught. Because he was younger at the time of the crime, the registration is removed, and the official document saying he had to register was cancelled.
Key Facts
- •Ethan Allon, aged 17 at the time of the offense, distributed an indecent photograph of a child (C, age 15) in violation of section 1(1)(b) of the Protection of Children Act 1978.
- •He was sentenced to a community order but the judge also applied notification requirements under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
- •The applicant was 20 years old at the time of conviction.
- •The video was uploaded to Pornhub without C's knowledge or consent.
Legal Principles
Notification requirements under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 are triggered automatically upon conviction of a listed offense, not by judicial order.
R v Rawlinson [2018] EWCA Crim 2825
A judge has no power to make an order determining whether the notification requirements apply, only to inform the offender.
R v Longworth [2006] 1 WLR 313
The age of the offender in Schedule 3, paragraph 13, refers to their age at the time of the offense, not conviction.
Protection of Children Act 1978, section 1
In Schedule 3, paragraph 95(a), 'a person's age' refers to the age of the person depicted in the photograph at the time the photograph was taken.
Sexual Offences Act 2003, Schedule 3, paragraph 95(a)
In Schedule 3, paragraph 95(b), 'a person's age' refers to the age of the person at the time of the offence.
Sexual Offences Act 2003, Schedule 3, paragraph 95(b)
Outcomes
The appeal against the application of notification requirements was allowed.
The judge erred in ordering the notification requirements; they are automatic upon conviction of a listed offence. The offender's age at the time of the offense, not conviction, is relevant under Schedule 3, paragraph 13. The applicant was under 18 at the time of the offense.
The section 92 certificate incorrectly stating the applicant was subject to notification requirements was quashed via judicial review.
The certificate was based on an incorrect application of the law. Similar to R v George [2018] EWCA Crim 417.