Nasreen Shah, instructed by Montague Solicitors, represented her client charged with ‘outraging public decency’.
Outraging public decency is a common law offence, it carries a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment. Precedents, pertaining to the offence such Ferguson [2008] EWCA Crim 2940, relate to persons that have committed this offence on a number of occasions and/or in conjunction with offences of a sexual nature. Of note is that the client was of previous good character, nor was the client charged with any other offence. It was put to the Court that the offence could carry a registration on the sex offenders registry. Nasreen submitted to the Court that, outraging public decency contained within Schedule 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, unlike the offences listed in Schedule 3, is not inherently sexual and therefore, the Court must not place the client on the sex offender’s registry in this instance.
Nasreen invited the Court to consider the general guidelines, for further assistance, the old sentencing guidelines in relation to sexual activity in a public lavatory, in conjunction with the contrasting case law. The Court concurred and imposed only a minimal fine.
Nasreen’s full profile: https://greatjames.co.uk/members/nasreen-shah-profile/