Taking naked pictures of sleeping teen not a crime: court ( SWEDEN)
31 Dec 09
A court in Halmstad on the southwest coast of Sweden has dismissed charges against a man who reportedly took a photo of a 17-year-old girl’s genitals while she was sleeping. The court said that the incident was was not a punishable offense.
The girl had laid down to sleep on a sofa during a New Year’s party. The 49-year-old reportedly lifted up the girl’s skirt and photographed her genitals. The man, whose teenage son was hosting the party, was indicted on charges of sexual harassment, local newspaper Hallandsposten reports.
Citing several other cases, the Halmstad district court said that the man had not committed a crime. There is no general prohibition against photographing people without their consent. The same applies to people who are asleep.
The fact that other people have seen the photograph, as claimed by the prosecutor in this case, doesn’t make the incident a punishable offense either, according to the court.
The court cited a Swedish Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen) case that cleared a man who had been brought to trial for filming sexual intercourse without the consent of the woman involved.
TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)
http://www.thelocal.se/24144/20091231/
The story above shows how absurd it would to be for the US Courts to look to “Other Nations” and “International Law” in their opinions of US Cases. Perhaps what happened in Sweden is a picture of what is coming to the US. Just Say’n !
Recently Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spoke to the issue of looking to International Law. Read about it here: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on abortion and international law
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