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Naturist couple are held in child porn inquiry
By Justin Davenport Crime Correspondent, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 28.01.05A couple who run a naturist mail order business from home have been held by Scotland Yard on suspicion of importing child pornography.
The arrest of retired Army major James Scarlett and his wife Carolyn, both 65, is said to be connected to be an ongoing inquiry by the Met's child protection team based in East Ham.
Scotland Yard said today that the arrests this week were made "in connection with the importation of indecent images of children". The couple have been released on police bail until mid-March.
Their business produces videos for French naturist camps and markets other books and magazines for enthusiasts all over the world. Their website is headlined "for the best of family naturism".
The Scarletts were at the centre of controversy in 1998 after magistrates rejected claims that some of their books and videos were obscene. Customs
and Excise officers had raided their 16th-century manor house in Sevenhampton, Gloucestershire and seized 200 videos and books they claimed were indecent. The allegations centred on pictures of naked children.
The Cheltenham magistrates ordered the seized material to be returned to the couple and ruled that Customs pay ?1,000 towards their legal costs.
Mr Scarlett later attacked child nudity laws, saying naturists "are not a seedy bunch".
Mr Scarlett, a member of the Central Council for British Naturism, admitted at the time that he and his wife could not be sure their products were not going to paedophiles but said they "weeded out" suspicious calls.
Today he said: "This is a rerun of what happened in 1998. It involves the same item... It is a standard naturist work which has been out since 1993. It is about a naturist holiday camp in Canada. The police have taken exception to a 90-second sequence featuring two children walking across the grass.
"We are a naturist family ourselves, we have no hangups about it. Everyone around here knows us and I think we run a reputable business."
