Would being bullied be considered mitigating circumstances
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Hi
our son was arrested and bailed in august then re bailed in November. He's 17 (will turn 18 before this nightmare is over) I knew he was being bullied but couldn't get him to open up to me. He'd just say his mates are saying stuff but he's ok etc. I have WhatsApp messages I sent to my daughter saying I was worried about her brother and asked her to talk to him whilst she was home from uni Christmas. She did talk to him but again he wouldn't open up to her either. When this all came out he finally broke down and told me about the bullying. His so called mates were saying he was ugly, no girl would ever go near him, he would be dying alone and be a virgin till the day he died etc etc, this started as banter but soon became bullying ti my son, they were saying things daily several times a day. My son said he turned to Snapchat in a bid to find out if girls really did hate him! He used Snapchat for this for aprox two months whilst tge bullying was at its worst. He said he stopped doing it when he made his mates realise that they'd gone too far and they stopped doing it as much! The time scale matches up totally with my messages and the dates the police have given. He'd just got his life on track after the bullying he got his first girlfriend, a little job he's doing amazing in college and been to lots of uni open days. He's so remorseful. The social workers have closed their case with us saying they believe he's very low risk of re offending.
no photos were saved to his camera roll. He thinks may have saved some photos in chat on Snapchat, but he blocked everyone after they had "finished their chat" thinking that would delete the photos. But after my lengthy research blocking someone on Snapchat doesn't delete the photos, if you unblock the person all the photos are still there.
Has anyone got any idea if the police/cps take the bullying as mitigating circumstances? Sorry for long message xx
our son was arrested and bailed in august then re bailed in November. He's 17 (will turn 18 before this nightmare is over) I knew he was being bullied but couldn't get him to open up to me. He'd just say his mates are saying stuff but he's ok etc. I have WhatsApp messages I sent to my daughter saying I was worried about her brother and asked her to talk to him whilst she was home from uni Christmas. She did talk to him but again he wouldn't open up to her either. When this all came out he finally broke down and told me about the bullying. His so called mates were saying he was ugly, no girl would ever go near him, he would be dying alone and be a virgin till the day he died etc etc, this started as banter but soon became bullying ti my son, they were saying things daily several times a day. My son said he turned to Snapchat in a bid to find out if girls really did hate him! He used Snapchat for this for aprox two months whilst tge bullying was at its worst. He said he stopped doing it when he made his mates realise that they'd gone too far and they stopped doing it as much! The time scale matches up totally with my messages and the dates the police have given. He'd just got his life on track after the bullying he got his first girlfriend, a little job he's doing amazing in college and been to lots of uni open days. He's so remorseful. The social workers have closed their case with us saying they believe he's very low risk of re offending.
no photos were saved to his camera roll. He thinks may have saved some photos in chat on Snapchat, but he blocked everyone after they had "finished their chat" thinking that would delete the photos. But after my lengthy research blocking someone on Snapchat doesn't delete the photos, if you unblock the person all the photos are still there.
Has anyone got any idea if the police/cps take the bullying as mitigating circumstances? Sorry for long message xx
I will send you a private message
The context obviously matters, although if there are illegal images on the device, it is still an offence,no matter how they got there.
The biggest thing in his favour, is his age. There is more sympathy shown to under 18s in the justice system, while adults are assumed to have no excuses, despite the fact that many of them were clearly suffering from mental health issues at the time.
The biggest thing in his favour, is his age. There is more sympathy shown to under 18s in the justice system, while adults are assumed to have no excuses, despite the fact that many of them were clearly suffering from mental health issues at the time.
Edel2020
course we are fully aware if any images are found there's a case to answer that's why I asked the question if bullying would fall into mitigating circumstances. I also mentioned that my son will turn 18 before this all ends so he will have to go ti an adult court etc and loose all his rights of a juvenile court even though he was 16 at the time. And I'd suggest that mitigating circumstances are not excuses and that a fully grown adult should never be compared to a juvenile!
course we are fully aware if any images are found there's a case to answer that's why I asked the question if bullying would fall into mitigating circumstances. I also mentioned that my son will turn 18 before this all ends so he will have to go ti an adult court etc and loose all his rights of a juvenile court even though he was 16 at the time. And I'd suggest that mitigating circumstances are not excuses and that a fully grown adult should never be compared to a juvenile!
Hi Tilly,
Yes a judge should consider anything going on in an offender's life at the time they offended to get the full picture so they can impose the best sentence to fit the circumstances. My understanding is that if in Youth Court, there is almost always some form of Youth Justice pre-sentence report requested before sentencing, which typically includes things like family background and mental health information. Juvenile systems prioritize rehabilitation, so judges rely on these reports heavily. A reason is different from an excuse and being bullied is definitely a reason.
If your son has turned 18 there might still be a report requested but it comes under the Probation Service. You need to make the defence solicitor aware of the circumstances and your feelings as sometimes sentencing happens on the same day as the plea hearing so the solicitor would need to request a delay in order to get a report written. Also court will bear in mind that even if he's now 18, your son was only 17 at the time of the offence. Hope this is a bit reassuring for you plus you can write a letter to the judge before sentencing where you can desribe what was going on factually without it sounding like you're making excuses, and your daughter can too.
I hope this info is correct - it's how we've approached our son's sentencing although he's not under 18, but has similar circunstances to your sons so not quite the same.
Yes a judge should consider anything going on in an offender's life at the time they offended to get the full picture so they can impose the best sentence to fit the circumstances. My understanding is that if in Youth Court, there is almost always some form of Youth Justice pre-sentence report requested before sentencing, which typically includes things like family background and mental health information. Juvenile systems prioritize rehabilitation, so judges rely on these reports heavily. A reason is different from an excuse and being bullied is definitely a reason.
If your son has turned 18 there might still be a report requested but it comes under the Probation Service. You need to make the defence solicitor aware of the circumstances and your feelings as sometimes sentencing happens on the same day as the plea hearing so the solicitor would need to request a delay in order to get a report written. Also court will bear in mind that even if he's now 18, your son was only 17 at the time of the offence. Hope this is a bit reassuring for you plus you can write a letter to the judge before sentencing where you can desribe what was going on factually without it sounding like you're making excuses, and your daughter can too.
I hope this info is correct - it's how we've approached our son's sentencing although he's not under 18, but has similar circunstances to your sons so not quite the same.
Hi Rainyday
thank you so much for your reply. Lots of helpful information that I'll make a note of. Our solicitor knows the whole story I'm pretty sure he will give a good fight for us if we end up in court. The person whose brought the allegations has been very vague on the dates so our son may have actually still been 16. She's painted a very different story. No evidence has been found as yet and if my son is being 100% honest with us (which I think he is at this point there's no point in lying) there possibly is very little evidence. But don't get me wrong we have made it perfectly clear to our son that what he's done is illegal and very wrong and stupid of him and therefore he has to face any consequences. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd find myself in this situation! It's so good to talk to people who have lived this or still living this. We've not told anyone so it's hard holding it all inside
thanks again xx
thank you so much for your reply. Lots of helpful information that I'll make a note of. Our solicitor knows the whole story I'm pretty sure he will give a good fight for us if we end up in court. The person whose brought the allegations has been very vague on the dates so our son may have actually still been 16. She's painted a very different story. No evidence has been found as yet and if my son is being 100% honest with us (which I think he is at this point there's no point in lying) there possibly is very little evidence. But don't get me wrong we have made it perfectly clear to our son that what he's done is illegal and very wrong and stupid of him and therefore he has to face any consequences. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd find myself in this situation! It's so good to talk to people who have lived this or still living this. We've not told anyone so it's hard holding it all inside
thanks again xx