The Bolton 7 were a group of

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and bisexual men who were convicted on 12 January 1998 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

before Judge Michael Lever at

Bolton Crown Court Bolton Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, and a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Black Horse Street, Bolton, England. History For much of the 19th century major criminal trials in Bolton we ...

of the offences of gross indecency under the

Sexual Offences Act 1956 The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz.2 c.69) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 May 2004) by the Sex ...

and of age of consent offences under the

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed r ...

. Although

gay sex Gay sexual practices are sexual activities involving men who have sex with men (MSM), regardless of their sexual orientation or sexual identity. These practices can include anal sex, non-penetrative sex, and oral sex. Evidence shows that sex b ...

was partially decriminalised by the

Sexual Offences Act 1967 The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 60). It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained t ...

, they were all convicted under section 13 of the 1956 Act because more than two men had sex together, which was still illegal. One of the participants (Craig Turner) was also six months under the statutory age of consent for

which was 18 at the time.

Offences

Under the provisions of the 1967 Act, the age of consent for

was different from that of the

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" ...

age of consent of 16, and had only been reduced from 21 to 18 by the

. Equivalent

behaviour was not a crime. The offences only came to light after police seized videos of the men having sex, which they had filmed for their own personal use. All the men were either lovers, ex-boyfriends, or friends of friends.

Sentences

During sentencing on 20 February 1998 Gary Abdie, David Godfrey, Mark Love and Jonathan Moore (all of whom were in their early 20s), and Craig Turner (17 at the time of the offences but 18 when he appeared in court) were given

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

and

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

orders. The Judge gave Norman Williams a two-year suspended prison sentence and Terry Connell received a nine-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay £500 towards the cost of the prosecution. Moore (20), Williams (33) and Connell (55) were also required to sign the Sex Offenders Register for the age of consent offences committed with Turner. Estimates of the overall cost of the prosecution were in the region of £500,000. None of the defendants received custodial sentences, the injustice of the case was given a public profile in a campaign led by gay

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

group

OutRage! OutRage! was a British political group focused on lesbian and gay rights. Founded in 1990, the organisation ran for 21 years until 2011. It described itself as "a broad based group of queers committed to radical, non-violent direct action and ...

Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is a British human rights campaigner, originally from Australia, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for Bermondsey ...

was present in the public gallery throughout the trial. He spearheaded a large nationally and locally networked campaign in support of the defendants and led protests against their prosecution, in alliance with Stonewall collectively raising awareness of the case, throughout broader society. Over 400 letters were presented to the court in support of the men including those from MPs, Bishops and

groups. The letters urged the judge not to impose a custodial sentence, with one group, Amnesty International, pledging to declare the men prisoners of conscience should they be imprisoned.

Aftermath

In 2000, six of the men appealed to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

arguing that the prosecutions against them had violated their rights under the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...

by interfering with 'the right to respect for a private family life' enshrined in article 8 of the convention. In 2001 the home office offered an out of court settlement of £15,000 to six of the men, with a promise to change the law. All charges against Williams were dropped, he was not awarded any compensation. Legislation subsequently introduced by the Labour Government has broadly equalised the treatment of homosexual and

behaviours in criminal law. The

Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 (c.44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the age of consent for male homosexual sexual activities (including anal sex) from 18 (or for some activities, 21) to that for hetero ...

equalised the age of consent for

with that of the

age of consent which is now 16 for both. The

Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeur ...

, though subject to some controversy, introduced an overhaul in the way sexual offences are dealt with by the police and courts, replacing provisions that date as far back to the 1956 legislation. The offences of gross indecency and buggery have been repealed and sexual activity between more than two men is no longer a

crime in the United Kingdom Crime in the United Kingdom describes acts of violent crime and non-violent crime that take place within the United Kingdom. Courts and police systems are separated into three sections, based on the different judicial systems of England and Wale ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Sodomy Laws - Bolton 7OutRage! websiteAmnesty Press Release - Bolton 7
People convicted of sodomy 1998 in LGBT history Sex scandals in the United Kingdom English people convicted of child sexual abuse LGBT history in the United Kingdom 1998 in England Gay history Septets

Offences

Sentences

Aftermath

See also

References

External links