Wilkinson v Secretary of State for Scotland [1999] ScotCS 49
Paedophilia alone did not justify detention, as it is a sexual deviancy; but on the facts there was a mental disorder. If there is a mental disorder that manifests itself in paedophile conduct, that can be within the definition of mental disorder. [MHLR.]
MHLR
The summary below has been supplied by Kris Gledhill, Editor of the Mental Health Law Reports. The full report can be purchased from Southside Online Publishing (if there is a "file not found" error, it means this particular report is not yet available online). More similar case summaries from the year 1999 are available here: MHLR 1999.
Whether a patient had been detained on the impermissible basis of his paedophilia - Wilkinson v Secretary of State for Scotland [1999] MHLR 17
Points Arising: Paedophilia alone did not justify detention, as it is a sexual deviancy; but on the facts there was a mental disorder. If there is a mental disorder that manifests itself in paedophile conduct, that can be within the definition of mental disorder.
Facts and Outcome: W challenged a sheriff’s decision to uphold his detention under the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984, arguing that his disorder was paedophilia, which was excluded from the definition of mental disorder as it was a sexual deviance. The challenge was dismissed on the basis that, whilst paedophilia (or his old alcohol addiction) alone would not justify detention, he was found to be suffering from mental illness characterised by anti-social personality disorder manifested by various features such as egocentricity, lack of feeling for others and lack of remorse for past offences.