British teenager admits inciting racial hatred on YouTube

British teenager admits inciting racial hatred on YouTube

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Wednesday, 17, Feb 2010 05:57

By Richard James.

A 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to two charges of inciting racial hatred after he posted 'hate-filled' videos on YouTube; the first case of its kind in England and Wales.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reports how the teenager was just 15 years old when he was arrested on suspicion of posting white supremacist material on the video-sharing website as well as his own personal site.

The youth, who has not been named due to reporting restrictions, was sentenced to two years conditional discharge on Wednesday.

CPS lawyer Viv Goddard confirmed the case in Norfolk represented the first time someone as young as the defendant had been prosecuted in England and Wales for incitement to racial hatred after posting racially inflammatory material on a social-networking site.

She added: "Young people need to realise that it is not a joke to post hate filled material on video sharing websites or sites they set up themselves. The material in this case was not just offensive but highly disturbing in its violence and imagery, particularly one clip which showed a black man being hanged by the Ku Klux Khan then his leg being hacked off and thrown into a fire.

"People are entitled to hold racist and extreme opinions which others may find offensive and obnoxious. What they are not entitled to do is to publish or distribute those opinions to the public in a threatening, abusive or insulting manner either intending to stir up racial hatred or in circumstances where it is likely racial hatred will be stirred up."

Mrs Goddard said it was difficult for the youth to deny responsibility as he had either filmed himself expressing racist opinions or had supplied his own comments as a voice over.

She said the case should act as a warning to young people over the dangers of posting such material on the internet as it could land them with a criminal conviction for the rest of their lives.