Cyprus' Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed an appeal by the Attorney General seeking a tougher sentence for a man convicted of offences relating to child sexual abuse material.
According to the court's judgment, the defendant was convicted before Nicosia District Court after admitting three offences under the Prevention and Combating of Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Pornography Law.
The offences related to the acquisition and possession of child sexual abuse material stored on the defendant's laptop computer.
The District Court imposed prison sentences of 18 months for acquiring child sexual abuse material, 14 months for possessing such material, and 30 months for acquiring material depicting children under the age of 13.
The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently. It also imposed supervision and exclusion orders preventing the defendant from entering places frequented by children for three years following his release from prison.
Under Cypriot law, the offences carry maximum penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment for the first two counts and up to life imprisonment for the third.
Appeal against sentence rejected
The Attorney General appealed the sentences, arguing that they were manifestly inadequate in light of the seriousness of the offences, the statutory maximum penalties, established case law, the circumstances of the case, the prevalence of such offences and the need for deterrence and crime prevention.
However, the Court of Appeal concluded that the sentences, although at the lower end of the acceptable range, did not meet the legal threshold for appellate intervention.
"We consider that the sentence imposed on the respondent can, albeit marginally, be regarded as falling within the permissible limits and is therefore not manifestly inadequate," the court said in its judgment.
It added that none of the grounds of appeal had been established and dismissed the appeal in its entirety, affirming the original judgment of the District Court.
Source: CNA
