The Press Council considered a complaint from CASPA, a child welfare and care service provider, about an article published by The Courier Mail on 13 March 2021, headed “Tragic flood dad on kid sex charge” in print, and “Father who lost wife and two children charged with child sex offence” online.
The article reported that a “Father who lost his wife and two of his children…is charged with having sex with a 14-year-old girl.” The article went on to state that the father “is facing serious criminal charges. He has been charged with six offences including two counts of having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl and supplying and possessing cannabis.”
The article also reported on the father’s family history and in particular that a car accident, which he was not involved in, had resulted in the death of his wife and two of this three children. In reporting the circumstances of the accident, the article named the surviving child. The article did not infer that the child was a victim of the alleged crimes.
The complainant said that until the article was published, the child was not aware of the criminal charges laid against the father. In addition, as a consequence of naming the child, school friends, teachers and the general community knew that the child’s father was charged with child sex and drug offences. The complainant said the pain and shame experienced by the child who is fragile and vulnerable has been extreme and may have contributed to a significant deterioration in the child’s mental health and the breakdown of family care placements.
The complainant said it was unnecessary to name the child and that the intrusion into the child’s privacy, the substantial risk to the child’s health and safety and the obvious distress caused by the report, is not outweighed by any public interest. The complainant also said that attempts to resolve the complaint directly with the publication were unsuccessful.
The publication acknowledged that the name of the child should not have been published and when the matter was brought to its attention it took steps to remove the child’s name from the online article as well as its digital archive. The publication said it offered the complainant a written undertaking that it would not use the child’s name in any future articles in relation to court proceedings concerning the father.
During the Adjudication hearing, the complainant said that the charges against the father in relation to alleged sexual offences had been withdrawn. The complainant also indicated that a court suppression order preventing the naming of the father in relation to criminal charges laid against him had recently been made. In light of this the publication undertook to take the article down. The publication also said that it will proceed to issue the child with a written apology.
Conclusion
The Council’s Standards of Practice require publications to avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy (General Principle 5), or causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety (General Principle 6), unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest. They also require that unless otherwise restricted by law or court order, open court hearings are matters of public record and can be reported by the press. Such reports need to be fair and balanced. They should not identify relatives or friends of people accused or convicted of a crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or subsequent legal proceedings (Privacy Principle 7).
The Council acknowledges that the child’s name has been referred to in previous articles concerning the tragic events involving the child’s family. Nonetheless, the Council considers that given the serious nature of the allegations that were made against the child’s father, there was a reasonable expectation that the child’s privacy should not be intruded upon. The Council also considers that in the circumstances, the reporting of the child’s name was not sufficiently in the public interest to outweigh this expectation of privacy. Accordingly, the Council concludes that General Principle 5 was breached in this respect.
The Council also considers that the publication failed to take reasonable steps to avoid causing substantial distress or a substantial risk to health or safety. Identifying the child in a report concerning allegations of a serious criminal nature against the child’s father, was likely to cause substantial distress. The Council notes that publishing the child’s name was unnecessary and did not add to the report of court proceedings and there was no sufficient public interest justification in doing so. Accordingly, the Council concludes that General Principle 6 was also breached in this respect.
As to Privacy Principle 7, the Council considers the inclusion of the child’s name was unnecessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the alleged crimes. Accordingly, Privacy Principle 7 was breached.
The Council acknowledges that the article has now been taken down and welcomes the publication’s apology to the child.
The Council notes that apart from finding that the publication failed to take reasonable steps to comply with its Standards of Practice, this matter highlights for all publications the need to exercise great care and respect when naming children in articles concerning criminal matters. In this context, the Council notes the comments of the complainant concerning the distress this article has caused the child.
Relevant Council Standards
Publications must take reasonable steps to:
- Avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
- Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
- Privacy Principle 7: Sensitive personal information
In accordance with Principle 6 of the Council's Statement of General Principles, media organisations should take reasonable steps to avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest. Members of the public caught up in newsworthy events should not be exploited. A victim or bereaved person has the right to refuse or terminate an interview or photographic session at any time. Unless otherwise restricted by law or court order, open court hearings are matters of public record and can be reported by the press. Such reports need to be fair and balanced. They should not identify relatives or friends of people accused or convicted of crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or subsequent legal proceedings.