The Press Complaints Commission ruled that the Luton Herald & Post violated the PCC’s code of practice with headline “[Luton and Dunstable] ‘pervert is found dead.” The Luton Herald & Post is a newspaper in Luton, UK, according to Mondo Times.
The headline accompanied a September 2011 story on “the death of Ameet Mohabeer, who had been facing sexual assault charges,” according to the Guardian’s Roy Greenslade. The complaint was filed by Mohabeer’s “civil partner,” Rod Hemley, who noted “that Mohabeer had pleaded not guilty to the charges, so the use of the term ‘pervert’ was insensitive and inaccurate.”
The PCC noted in its ruling that the Luton Herald “was entitled to report the allegations against Mr Mohabeer” but the newspaper wasn’t sensitive in its reporting.
The ruling is published here on the PCC’s website and also here on Luton Today‘s website.
The Luton Herald has since updated its headline, according to the Guardian’s Roy Greenslade.