Canada Rules on Child Porn Case VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- A provincial judge ruled Friday that Canada's law against possessing child pornography violates the freedom-of- expression clause of the country's Charter of Rights. ``There is no evidence that demonstrates a significant increase in the danger to children caused by pornography,'' ruled Duncan Shaw, a justice of British Columbia's Supreme Court. He said the section of the Criminal Code that outlaws possession of child pornography is invalid because it violates charter provisions guaranteeing freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression. The case involved pornography possession charges against John Sharpe. Police raided his home near Vancouver in April 1995, seizing compact disks, photos and writings about child pornography. Prosecutors argued that allowing people to possess child pornography puts children at risk from pedophiles. But Shaw said the contention that materials depicting illegal sex with children actually prompt people to commit such acts was ``only assumption.'' ``The intrusion into freedom of expression and the right of privacy is so profound that it is not outweighed by the limited beneficial effects of the prohibition,'' Shaw wrote. The provincial attorney general, Ujjal Dosanjh, said he needed time to study the ruling before commenting or deciding on an appeal. However, Barry Penner, justice spokesman for the opposition Liberal Party in the provincial legislature, said the province should appeal immediately ``to look after children ... and protect them from being abused by sexual deviants.''
