AddThis SmartLayers

Daily rapped for mentioning sex offender’s amputated leg in story

Paul-Evans2.jpg.galleryThe press watchdog has rapped a regional daily for mentioning a man’s amputated leg in a report about his conviction for downloading images of child abuse.

Paul Evans, left, pleaded guilty at Brighton Magistrates’ Court last September to possessing hundreds of indecent images including 336 involving penetrative sexual activity with children.

However when Brighton daily The Argus reported the case, it included a reference to the fact that Evans was an amputee, prompting him to complain to the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

The watchdog has now ruled against the newspaper, saying the reference to Evans’ disability by a trainee reporter represented a “serious failure in relation to both staff training and editorial oversight.”

IPSO also said it may  take further action against The Argus for what it described as a “serious breach” of the Editors’ Code of Practice and the way it dealt with the resulting complaint.

The print version of the story had been run with the headline ‘Man with one leg had child porn’ and featured references to Evans’s disability in the text, while a photograph of him leaving court also showed his disability.

Complaining under Clause 12 (Discrimination) of the Code, Evans said the repeated references to his disability were not justified or relevant to his crimes and were included in an attempt to shame and mock him, as well as suggesting a link between his offences and the fact that he is physically disabled.

He also believed the accompanying photograph was used to further draw attention to his disability.

When contacted, The Argus immediately accepted that the complainant’s disability was not relevant to the story, and should not have been referenced, adding the article had been written by a trainee reporter who had made reference to the complainant’s disability because it was visible in photographs taken outside court.

The newspaper said it was regrettable that the references to the complainant’s disability had been included in the article and said it had reminded all reporters of the obligation to comply with the terms of Clause 12, but maintained that there was no intention to make prejudicial reference to the complainant on the basis of his disability.

As soon as the complaint to IPSO was received, The Argus offered to remove all references to the complainant’s disability from the online article and to either publish an apology or write a personal letter of apology to Evans if this would fully resolve the complaint.

Evans said he would still pursue a complaint to IPSO, but the online article was amended to remove all reference to the complainant’s disability eight days after the complaint was received.

IPSO found Evans’s conviction for charges of possessing indecent images of children was plainly irrelevant to his physical disability, and referring to his condition in this context was discriminatory, notwithstanding the fact that the reference itself had not been pejorative.

The Committee said it was extremely concerned that by the newspaper’s account, it appeared that a trainee journalist had been unaware that the terms of Clause 12 applied in this situation and had published an account of a criminal case on serious charges without appropriate oversight.

IPSO said it was also deeply concerned about the way The Argus handled of the complaint, saying the decision to make its offer to remove the material conditional on Evans agreeing not to pursue his complaint further was not a suitable or satisfactory response.

The watchhdog says it will consider separately what further action is appropriate to address what appear to be matters of significant concern in terms the seriousness of the breach, and the Committee’s concern regarding the paper’s handling of the complaint.

However, the Committee dismissed the complaint regarding the photograph of Evans leaving court, and rejected a separate complaint about user comments on the story which had also made references to his disability.

Evans was sentenced at a later hearing in October to ten months imprisonment suspended for two years and made to sign the sex offenders register.  He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

The full adjudication can be read here.