Man cleared of obscenity over Girls Aloud blog

A FORMER civil servant who wrote an internet article imagining the kidnap, rape and murder of the pop group Girls Aloud was cleared of obscenity yesterday.

Darryn Walker, 35, faced prosecution after writing a 12-page blog on a fantasy pornography site.

The Crown Prosecution Service took action, believing that the group’s young fans could easily have stumbled across it while searching the internet for material about the band.

But a report for the defence by an information technology expert found the article was not easily accessible, and could only be discovered by those looking for such specific material.

Walker, of Mowbray Street, South Shields, Tyneside, walked free from Newcastle Crown Court after he was cleared.

The defendant said “no comment” as he left court.

Tim Owen QC, defending, expressed Walker’s relief and gratitude to the CPS for reviewing the case.

“The effect of this prosecution on Mr Walker has been devastating,” he said.

“He has lost his job and has not managed to get further employment.”

David Perry QC, prosecuting, said the decision to prosecute over the article Girls (Scream) Aloud was taken in July last year.

The internet expert’s report for the defence, which could not be rebutted, turned the case on its head.

Owen, for the defendant, said: “It was never his intention to frighten or intimidate the members of Girls Aloud. He had written what he had described as an adult celebrity parody and was only meant to be for an audience of like-minded people.”

The defence also obtained a report from a consultant psychiatrist which said it was “baseless” to suggest that reading such material could turn other people into sexual predators.

Judge Esmond Faulks formally returned a not guilty verdict to the charge of publishing an obscene article.