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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
pended custodial sentences increased from 24% to 37%. At the same time, a community service order was
imposed as the most severe main sentence less often (7% in comparison with an average of 12% in the
period between 2005 and 2009.) It is possible that this tendency towards more severe penalties is linked
to the altered perception of the severity of the offence of child pornography. Furthermore, the term of
the non-suspended component of the custodial sentences imposed was shorter in 2010. However, this
does not have to be in contradiction with the previously-stated trend towards more severe sentences.
It is possible that in cases in which a community service order would usually have been imposed in
the past, it is now more often the case that a non-suspended sentence with a relatively short term or a
partially suspended custodial sentence is imposed. The community service orders imposed in 2009 and
2010 carried a longer term more often.
It is very rare that detention under a hospital order or placement in a young offenders’ institution
is imposed
In the total period of time between 2005 and 2010, placement under a hospital order was imposed in
14 cases (1%) for an adult offender and an order for placement in a young offenders’ institution was
imposed three times (0%) for an offender who was a minor. A number of judgments involved placement
under a hospital order exclusively with regard to child pornography offences, and one single case
involved placement under a hospital order solely with regard to the possession and distribution of child
abuse material (and therefore did not relate to the production of such material). In these situations,
under certain circumstances, placement under a hospital order can also be required in the interest of
the safety of others or for the safety of society as a whole.
Appeals were lodged more often in 2010
It is possible that the above-mentioned developments (fewer convictions and more severe sentences)
result, in part, from the fact that appeals were lodged more often by the suspect and/or the
public prosecutor in 2010 (31% in comparison with an average of 17% in the period between 2005
and 2009).
More severe and longer sentences are imposed on appeal than in first instance
In both the first instance as well as on appeal, a large majority of prosecutions regarding child pornography
cases resulted in a custodial sentence being the most severe main sentence imposed (87%
in first instance and 90% on appeal). This involves a custodial sentence with a non-suspended component
more often on appeal (47% non-suspended, 43% suspended), whilst in first instance, this
involves a fully suspended custodial sentence more often (30% non-suspended, 57% suspended).
Besides this, the custodial sentences with non-suspended components have longer terms on appeal
than in first instance (first instance: 62% no longer than one year and 16% over two years; on
appeal: 44% no longer than one year and 25% over two years). This also applies to the term of the
community service orders. A possible explanation for this is that the more serious cases lead to appeal
more often.
Perpetrators who are convicted and stand trial are men of all ages
Almost all of the suspects and persons convicted are men. One third of the suspects are younger than 31
years old (whereby 8% of the suspects and 5% of the perpetrators who are prosecuted are minors) and
one fifth of the suspects are older than 51 years old.