Possession of Extreme Pornographic Images (Section 63 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008)

Possession of Extreme Pornographic Images is an offence under s.63 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008: it is an offence for a person to be in possession of an extreme pornographic image (s.63(1)). An extreme pornographic image is one which is both pornographic and an extreme image (s.63(2)). An image is pornographic if it is of such a nature that it must reasonably be assumed to have been produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal (s.63(3)), judged, where the image forms part of a series, by reference to the image itself and its context in the series (s.63(4)). In England and Wales an extreme image is one which falls within s.63(7) or (7A) and is grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character (s.63(5A)). An image falls within s.63(7) if it portrays, in an explicit and realistic way, an act which threatens a person's life, an act which results or is likely to result in serious injury to a person's anus, breasts or genitals, an act involving sexual interference with a human corpse, or a person performing an act of intercourse or oral sex with an animal (whether dead or alive), and a reasonable person looking at the image would think that any such person or animal was real; it falls within s.63(7A) if it portrays, in an explicit and realistic way, non-consensual penetration of a person's vagina, anus or mouth by another's penis, or non-consensual sexual penetration of a person's vagina or anus by another with a part of the body or anything else, and a reasonable person would think the persons were real. Proceedings in England and Wales may not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions (s.63(10)). Maximum sentence: where the image portrays a relevant act (an act within s.63(7)(a) or (b) or (7A)(a) or (b), s.67(5)), on summary conviction imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates' court (12 months for an offence triable either way, Sentencing Act 2020, s.224(1A)(b)) or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both, and on conviction on indictment imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or a fine or both (s.67(2), (4)); where the image does not portray a relevant act (that is, the corpse and animal limbs in s.63(7)(c) and (d)), the same summary penalty and on indictment imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine or both (s.67(3)).

In practice

This is an either-way offence: it may be tried at the magistrates' court or the Crown Court. Mode of trial depends on the seriousness and the defendant's election. All suspects must be interviewed by officers trained in sexual offence investigation. Disclosure must be handled in accordance with the Attorney General's Guidelines. Consider a Sexual Harm Prevention Order application. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).

Updated 16 October 2026: from 6 November 2026 separate offences cover the possession and publication of pornographic images of a person strangling or suffocating another person, of sex between relatives, and of sexual activity with a person under 16 (Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 ss.67A, 67E and 67H, inserted by Crime and Policing Act 2026 ss.104, 106 and 107, commenced by SI 2026/1090 reg 2). Section 63 itself is not amended.