devon dungeon busted by the police (94)

Indeed that Act is no longer with us [nor did I say it was] but the provisions it enshrined are the ones that have come down into current legislation [haven't access to Archbold/Blackstone etc right at this moment to quote ch & verse], especially in the murky untested area of whether bdsm alone constitutes sexual services.

It's a confusing area even for lawyers. I can think of at least seven solicitors and one QC involved in providing advice on the last arrests, more than half of whom - including the QC - were billing their time [ie not pro bono], which requires non trivial resources.

Some of that effort might come in handy in the Lee Mill instance - depending on the facts.

Edited 6 Mar 10, 8:21 PM by go4it

It is.

"If no sexual offence is being committed it seems very odd indeed that there should be an offence for having an image of something which was not an offence," Lord Wallace of Tankerness
http://www.clips4sale.com/studio/26308 http://ladyannadominatrix.c4slive.com/ http://www.professionaldomination.co.uk

Completely agree with this post. As much as I appreciate how traumatic the forthcoming months are going to be for the people arrested I can't summon up a great deal of sympathy.

The best way to avoid all this palaver is to do your homework and think about it properly. Renting a house in a quiet residential area with lots of neighbours is the most stupid thing I have heard. I know of a couple of pro-premises that have been found out simply because the neighbours were fed up of their parking space being taken by strangers. A few twitches of the curtain and the automatic assumption is a brothel and so obviously, the neighbours call the police. It isn't rocket science.

"If no sexual offence is being committed it seems very odd indeed that there should be an offence for having an image of something which was not an offence," Lord Wallace of Tankerness
http://www.clips4sale.com/studio/26308 http://ladyannadominatrix.c4slive.com/ http://www.professionaldomination.co.uk

Yes agreed.

I well remember visiting a PD in London many years ago who worked in a block of flats. As I went to ring the bell the door opened and the lady from the downstairs flat was standing there She took one look at me and said "oh you want Mistress... on the second floor"

These things do get noticed (especially lots of visitors). I know where my lady works it would be a real problem if she was there all the time and not just seeing one or two guys a week

On the face of it there was a lack of planning and thought here

Edited 6 Mar 10, 12:35 PM by lisal

This surely makes my suggestion (viz: http://www.informedconsent.co.uk/posts/265516/3/... even more appealing!

Come on everybody peeps! Bedford is such a sleepy town. It could do with livening up.

It is time it was no longer appropriate for people to say, "Up the stairs to Bedfordshire."

If it goes as far as the tenant ignoring a repossession order the police can assist with eviction. More on topic, running a dungeon (for fun or profit) probably *is* grounds for eviction (one of them containing that nasty little word 'moral' in connection with the use of the property).

Of course this doesn't entitle the police to nick your dildos in the process.

And all men kill the thing they love, By all let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word, The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword!

Edited 6 Mar 10, 2:51 PM by Ethics_Gradient

A few points on this one. - A tenancy agreement is not a police issue. - Devon & Cornwall police don't appear to have said a word about payments. If no payments have taken place then it's not business use. - Tenancy agreements are normally only looked at once there's problems between landlord & tenant. For example tenancy agreements I have say "no pets", but I'm not bothered what pets they keep.

One thing that confuses me - Do Devon & Cornwall police think even 1% of population think this is a good use of the legal system?

"it will come down to legal debate and a test case to establish this point re brothels. My research indicates that no case law exists to prove that spanking is a "lewd practice" which falls within the scope of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It will come down to the perception of the man on the Clapham omibus ..... for want of a better phrase is spanking a lewd practice. Problem would be the interpretation of whether an element of sexual gratification is there."