On Friday 6 January 2012, a historic case came to a
conclusion in Courtroom 7 of Southwark Crown Court. Michael Peacock was
unanimously acquitted, after a four-day trial that saw the outdated obscenity
law of England and Wales in the dock.
Peacock had been charged under the Obscene Publications Act
1959 for allegedly distributing ‘obscene’ ‘gay’ DVDs, which featured fisting,
urolagnia (‘watersports’) and BDSM.
Peacock had advertised the DVDs through Craigslist, his own
website (which also promoted his services as a male escort), and in a magazine.
The Human Exploitation and Organised Crime Command (SCD9) or London’s
Metropolitan Police — which encompasses the former Obscene Publications Squad —
saw the advert and began an investigation.
They contacted Peacock, arranging to call around at his
Brixton flat and purchase the five most popular fisting DVDs, which they did;
then, after examining the DVDs, returned to the flat to arrest Peacock. Peacock
also sold DVDs on his website, sleazymichael.com, and in the London-based gay
magazine, Boyz. ‘Gay, straight, bi and trans’ DVDs were available (the word
‘porn’ was not used in the adverts) for prices starting at £8.50. No lesbian,
underage, ‘K9’, bareback, brown or blood DVDs were available, but a total of
2,247 DVDs were catalogued and Peacock estimated he made a modest £70 a week
from their sale.