Why has Harvey’s killer not been named so far?published at 10:56 BST
Oli Constable
BBC News, Sheffield Crown Court
Harvey Willgoose’s killer, who is to be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court today, cannot currently be named due to his age.
Image source, Google
The general rule is that the administration of justice must be done in public, but a judge can impose reporting restrictions in order to protect some victims or young people.
Under Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, a criminal court can also grant anonymity to a juvenile defendant – such as in this case.
This means that nothing can be published that would identify him, including his name, his address, the school he went to, anywhere he may have worked and any pictures of him.
However, at the start of the trial, BBC News and other media organisations asked the judge to vary that order because we felt it would be difficult to report the full facts of the case if we could not say the boy also attended All Saints Catholic High School. After a discussion in court, the judge agreed to vary that order.
When the jury was eventually sent out to deliberate, BBC News wrote to the court asking that the Section 45 order be lifted in its entirety at the conclusion of the trial. The 15-year-old had already pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
BBC News further submitted that it was in the public interest to name the defendant because the community and wider public have a very strong interest in knowing the identity of the person who had perpetrated such a serious crime in a local school.
The judge, the Honourable Mrs Justice Ellenbogen, is currently considering our submission, along with submissions from the defence barristers.
