A man was today acquitted of downloading child pornography, a crime his brother admitted to.
The police held the 43-year-old man responsible for the crime because he owned the computer the pornography was found on.
However, there was no evidence to suggest he committed the crime, especially since his younger brother, who suffered a number of disorders and who living with his brother and his wife because he had tried to commit suicide, admitted to the crime.
The downloaded pornography included videos and images of children under nine.
In handing down judgement, Magistrate Demicoli noted how the accused was very angry at the fact that child pornography was on his computer and denied all accusations.
She said she did not agree with the prosecution’s thesis that since the computer belonged to the accused, he was to be held responsible for the material on it.
The magistrate noted that when the police spoke to the brother, he admitted to being the culprit but the police still charged the accused.