Decision of the Complaints Committee 04119-19 A woman v Lancashire Telegraph
Summary of complaint
1. A woman
complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that the Lancashire
Telegraph breached Clause 2 (Privacy) and Clause 11 (Victims of sexual assault)
of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article published in 2019.
2. This decision is
written in general terms, to avoid the inclusion of information which could
identify a victim of sexual assault.
3. The article
reported that an individual had received a custodial sentence after being
convicted of sexual offences against three children who, at the time of the
offences, were all “under the age of 16.” The article reported that the
offences had taken place twenty years ago, in a named town, and specified the
time period over which the offences took place, by reference to years. The
article also reported the defendant’s former address, by reference to the name
of the street.
4. Under a separate
sub-headline, the article continued by reporting quotes from a statement read
out by one of the victims during the court proceedings, which detailed the
impact which the offences had made on her both professionally and personally,
including the impact on her mental health.
5. The complainant
said that by including certain details from the court hearings, particularly
the details from her victim impact statement which concerned the impact the
offences had made on her career, the publication had failed to protect her
identity as a victim of sexual assault. The complainant said that, in fact, she
had been identified as the victim in the case by members of her small local
community who she said had put the details contained in the article together,
and had worked out who she was. The complainant also said that the disclosure
of this information was deeply upsetting and an unjustified intrusion into her
privacy, in breach of Clause 2.
6. The publication
expressed regret that the complainant had been upset by the coverage, but said
that in accordance with the principle of open justice, it was entitled to
report on cases such as the case subject to the article under complaint. The
publication provided explanations as to why it did not believe that the
specific pieces of information identified by the complainant were likely to
lead to the identification of the victim. It said that the quotes from the
complainant’s victim impact statement were published in good faith in order to
highlight the impact of the offending.
Relevant Code provisions
7. Clause 2
(Privacy)*
i) Everyone is
entitled to respect for his or her private and family life, home, health and
correspondence, including digital communications.
ii) Editors will
be expected to justify intrusions into any individual's private life without
consent. Account will be taken of the complainant's own public disclosures of
information.
iii) It is
unacceptable to photograph individuals, without their consent, in public or
private places where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Clause 11 (Victims of sexual assault)
The press must not identify or publish material likely to
lead to the identification of a victim of sexual assault unless there is
adequate justification and they are legally free to do so.
Findings of the Committee
8. The Committee
offered its condolences to the complainant for the distressing circumstances
which brought about this complaint.
9. The Code offers
specific protection to victims of sexual assault, and recognises their legal
right to anonymity. It also seeks to balance these protections against the
important role that the press play in ensuring that court cases are reported on
in an open and transparent way. The Committee acknowledged that identifying the
defendant in a case may lead to speculation from members of the public on the
identity of their victims, particularly within small communities. However,
identifying the defendant in such cases is fundamental to the principle of open
justice. The Committee is required to make an objective assessment as to whether
the details reported are likely to lead to identification of a complainant as
the victim in the case.
10. The article had
disclosed information heard during the court proceedings regarding the
circumstances of the offences, including references to the town in which the
offences had occurred and the period of time over which they took place. These
details, made in general terms, explained to readers the facts of the case and
care had been taken by the publication not to disclose further details
regarding the victims, such as their precise age or their association with the
accused, nor did the article report the specific location in which the offences
had taken place. The Committee acknowledged the complainant’s concern at the
publication of quotes from her victim impact statement. However it considered
that the details contained in the article, including the details contained
within her statement, could apply to a relatively broad class of individuals,
and so it was reasonable to find that reporting these details was not likely to
lead to her identification as a victim of sexual assault. The complaint under Clause
11 was not upheld.
11. The Committee
acknowledged the complainant’s distress at the publication of certain details
in the articles such as the inclusion of the accused’s partial address. However
these details had been heard in open court, and enabled the public to
understand the facts, and impact, of the offences. In relation to the accused’s
address, the Committee noted that publishing this information helps distinguish
a person from others with the same name. In accordance with the fundamental principle
of open justice, the publication of this information did not represent a breach
of Clause 2.
Conclusions
12. The complaint
was not upheld.
Remedial Action Required
N/A
Date complaint received: 10/05/2019
Date decision issued: 20/09/2019