- NEWS - Paedophiles avoid jail under Labours new sentencing laws Under the Sentencing Act 2026 almost all sentences of 12 months or less are suspended to ease prison overcrowding Callum Powell 34 received an 18 month sentence for possessing thousands of indecent images of children but an early guilty plea reduced it to exactly 12 months allowing him to walk free Clint Barnes 56 had a 12 month sentence suspended for historical indecent assaults on a boy under 16 after a judge said the new law forced the decision The Ministry of Justice says judges retain the power to imprison when necessary and community sentences can include tagging curfews and exclusion zones This sentencing act doesn't just apply to peados it applies to ANYONE who gets sentenced to 12 months or less and even up to 2 years.. Labour soft on crime...