Punishments for not using face coverings, not social distancing and for having indecent pictures of children differ depending upon the precise offence

A Facebook post with almost 25,000 shares has claimed that the punishment for not wearing a face covering, or meeting in groups are significantly stronger than for possessing indecent images of children.

The post says:

“£3k fine for not wearing a cloth over your face

£10k fine for a group gathering

£0 fine and 12 month suspended sentence for owning 10,000 child porn images, 2 out of 3 caught are spared jail altogether.”

As we have written before, the punishments for breaking social distancing rules and possession of child pornography vary depending on the nature of offence. This post describes the higher end of fines for mask and social distancing breaches in England for repeat offenders.

Sentencing for possession of indecent images of children vary depending on the case 

It’s not clear if the post is referring to a specific case of someone who was caught with 10,000 independent images of children and received no fine and a 12 month suspended sentence. 

We found the case of one man, Liam Rothery, of Whitehaven who had more than 10,000 images, who was sentenced to a 36-month community order, told to complete a sex offenders course, 150 hours’ of unpaid work, a rehabilitation requirement and had to sign the sex offender register for five years. Another man, Marcus Armstrong, of Trowbridge, at the time a special constable, had downloaded hundreds of indecent images, and was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

Although these cases don’t match the claim exactly, it does seem possible that someone could be sentenced to a years’ suspended sentence but no fine for this sort of offence, depending on the circumstances. 

The Sentencing Council says that the punishment for possessing indecent images of children can result in a maximum of five years in custody, and possession with intention to distribute it carries a maximum of ten years, although the sentence will depend on many factors, like whether the defendant has any previous convictions and if they show remorse.

Fines for not obeying mask and social distancing rules

In England, the police can issue fines of £200, reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days for a first offence of failing to wear a face covering when necessary without a valid exemption. This can double for repeat offenders up to a maximum fine of £6,400, although it was previously a maximum of £3,200, which is closer to what the post claims. The rules vary between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In England, a group larger than six people meeting can result in a fine of £100, but can double for repeat offenders up to £6,400. Organisers of large gatherings, such as illegal parties may be fined up to £10,000. You can find information for Scotland here, Northern Ireland here, and Wales here.

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