During sentencing on 20 February 1998 Gary Abdie, David Godfrey, Mark Love and Jonathan Moore (all of whom were in their early 20s), and Craig Turner (17 at the time of the offences but 18 when he appeared in court) were given probation and community service orders.
Moore (20), Williams (33) and Connell (55) were also required to sign the Sex Offenders Register for the age of consent offences committed with Turner.
Peter Tatchell was present in the public gallery throughout the trial, having spearheaded a large nationally and locally networked campaign in support of the defendants and led protests against their prosecution, in alliance with Stonewall collectively raising awareness of the case, throughout broader society.
The letters urged the judge not to impose a custodial sentence, with one group, Amnesty International, pledging to declare the men prisoners of conscience should they be imprisoned.
[3] Legislation subsequently introduced by the Labour Government has broadly equalised the treatment of homosexual and heterosexual behaviours in criminal law.