(1) A person who knowingly possesses child pornography is guilty of an
indictable offence.
Penalty: Level 6 imprisonment (5 years maximum).
(2) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) to
prove-
(a) in the case of-
(i) a film; or
(ii) a photograph contained in a publication; or
(iii) a computer game- that at the time of the alleged offence the film,
publication or computer game was classified other than RC or X or X
18+ or would, if classified, be classified other than RC or X or X
18+; or
(b) that the film, photograph, publication or computer game
possesses
artistic merit or is for a genuine medical, legal, scientific or
educational purpose; or
...
(3) Despite subsection (2)(b), the defence of artistic merit cannot be relied
on in a case where the prosecution proves that the minor was actually under
the age of 18 years.