Devices back and all clear..what now?!!
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My husband got a call from his solicitor this to say his devices have come back and nothing has been found. He was arrested on suspicion of talking and arranging to meet a young boy for sexual purposes through Kik. During interview He was shown chat logs and was told to no comment. He has denied all of the allegations. His solicitor has said it's now up to the police to decide whether to charge and then we'll go from there but may be a plea bargain would be best. I can't help but think that if he does that it'll ruin our lives even more. I've said he shouldn't plead guilty to something he hasn't done and even though there's still every chance they could decide not to charge my mind is raving. It wasn't ever linked to our home address, only his work. I want to scream as I'm terrified if they charge and he pleads guilty then that'll be it. He's currently still in the family home with heavy input from social services as we have two young children. I've no clue how the legal system works, he doesn't know what evidence they have now (it wasn't an actual child on the other end but an undercover operative). I can't help but think if it was home then surely the would have found images, videos ect as surely no one goes from nothing to 100. If he pleads guilty will social services make our life a living hell?
Hi fairytree, take a breath lovely they found nothing that is excellent, why do you think thier would/should have been images? We are in a similar situation to you I regards to it being accused of a communication offence via the kik app. I guess they will send the evidence off to to CPS and they will decide if what they have is enough to charge. Thier are varying timescales with this as with the rest of this saga. Social services are often involved either way as they base thier involvement in risk and assessment rather than guilt. Hoping this will be over for you soon xx stay strong xx
I wouldn't recommend your partner pleading guilty to something he hasn't done. My partner did, in the belief that it meant one less court hearing, and would therefore reduce the chance of it appearing in the press, and it would make a prison sentence highly unlikely. It couldn't have gone much worst. He ended up with around 18 month prison sentence, and the story in the papers. People assume if someone pleads guilty, that they are in effect guilty. A guilty plea also makes an appeal against the conviction in the future very hard. As the system doesn't believe that giving incentives such as a discount in sentence for an early guilty plea encourages some innocent people to plead guilty. Or rather they don't really care about innocent people having convictions, as long as they can label as many people as possible as sex offenders. Anyway, if they haven't found any evidence on his devices, I would have thought it would be difficult to link him to any offence. Wait for them to state their case, they may not pursue. Don't panic like my partner did, and give them what you think they want.
hi
my son was told to plead guilty as there were 6 indecent images on his computer 4 were cat C and 2 cat A, the solicitor advised and told him it was for the best as the images had been found on his computer which he could not deny
however there were mitigating circumstances which were not taken into account or mentioned in his defence. He said he did not download them intentionally he said he had been downloading adult porn from a site he had used many times before and when he had gone to look through his download he had seen these indecent images of children and deleted them immediately.
his internet provider Sky had then reported to Police and then he had the knock...
so I would strongly say do not plead guilty unless something is found on any devices.
hope that makes sense
thanks for listening
my son was told to plead guilty as there were 6 indecent images on his computer 4 were cat C and 2 cat A, the solicitor advised and told him it was for the best as the images had been found on his computer which he could not deny
however there were mitigating circumstances which were not taken into account or mentioned in his defence. He said he did not download them intentionally he said he had been downloading adult porn from a site he had used many times before and when he had gone to look through his download he had seen these indecent images of children and deleted them immediately.
his internet provider Sky had then reported to Police and then he had the knock...
so I would strongly say do not plead guilty unless something is found on any devices.
hope that makes sense
thanks for listening
Hi Mum15,
your situation sounds exactly the same as mine except we haven't had the devices back yet so don't know what's going to be found.
if you don't mind me asking, what was the outcome in your sons case? Xx
your situation sounds exactly the same as mine except we haven't had the devices back yet so don't know what's going to be found.
if you don't mind me asking, what was the outcome in your sons case? Xx
Mum15,if he deleted theimages,there should be no case to answer
Hi Fairytree
I would be interested to know this answer as well!
We have not had our devices back yet but my partner has told me there is nothing on any of the home devices, I do believe him. His was a potential communication offence and he was caught by a decoy at the arranged meeting place. He was released under investigation 21 months ago.
I just wondered Maunsell if you have any legal training? It would be handy if there was someone on here who had!
mabel x x
I would be interested to know this answer as well!
We have not had our devices back yet but my partner has told me there is nothing on any of the home devices, I do believe him. His was a potential communication offence and he was caught by a decoy at the arranged meeting place. He was released under investigation 21 months ago.
I just wondered Maunsell if you have any legal training? It would be handy if there was someone on here who had!
mabel x x
No,but I have done extensive research about mitigating circumstances applicable to this "offence".I cannot do it for everyone else,have to do it yourself.here are some mitigating circumstances:
No abuse of position of trust
Not known to user
If charged with "making"....size of audience
Remorse
Previous good character
Age
Request internet tracking software and examination of phone
Unsolicited receipt
Mental disorder
Reasonable belief the subject is 18
No abuse of position of trust
Not known to user
If charged with "making"....size of audience
Remorse
Previous good character
Age
Request internet tracking software and examination of phone
Unsolicited receipt
Mental disorder
Reasonable belief the subject is 18
If anyone is interested,read the Saunder's law website.....saunders.co.uk
Paras 2 and 3 under "Jury's decision"
Hi
sorry for not getting back sooner
the outcome for him was 5 years SOR, 100 hours unpaid work and 3 years Community Order, there are no restrictions around contact with children as he has a nephew and niece who he sees now and again, social services were involved very briefly and no issues were raised and case closed.
he is visited randomly by PPU they just turn up as and when and check his phone ,computer etc
he had a risk assessment completed and seen as low risk, he only sees his PO once a month
he lost his job and doing his best to apply for other employment had lots of interviews , been offered jobs but as soon as he discloses he has a criminal record they withdraw the offer.
he is on benefits of course and struggling to make ends meet so I am helping him out, he is also trying to get his own place as he has been sharing with his brother and due to what has happened things are not good between them
I am trying to keep it together but as you all can appreciate it is very difficult for all of us
sorry for not getting back sooner
the outcome for him was 5 years SOR, 100 hours unpaid work and 3 years Community Order, there are no restrictions around contact with children as he has a nephew and niece who he sees now and again, social services were involved very briefly and no issues were raised and case closed.
he is visited randomly by PPU they just turn up as and when and check his phone ,computer etc
he had a risk assessment completed and seen as low risk, he only sees his PO once a month
he lost his job and doing his best to apply for other employment had lots of interviews , been offered jobs but as soon as he discloses he has a criminal record they withdraw the offer.
he is on benefits of course and struggling to make ends meet so I am helping him out, he is also trying to get his own place as he has been sharing with his brother and due to what has happened things are not good between them
I am trying to keep it together but as you all can appreciate it is very difficult for all of us
And how does removing his means of supporting himself help him be a better person/not offend in some way.The authorities really do not get it;the punishment is out of all proportion to the "crime".They cannot even prove anyone has suffered abuse.Crazy !
Hello,
We are pleased that so many individuals are using the forum as a source of support and providing advice to others. We hope that you are able to continue doing this but please do be mindful that the advice that you are giving others is accurate. For instance, there has been some mention of images being irretrievable if they are deleted in a certain way, however, the police do have sophisticated equipment that can retrieved deleted files off of devices to examine them for further analysis. A solicitor or the helpline will be able to give you more information about this.
If you are seeking legal advice then we would advise that you contact a solicitor who specialises in these types of offences who will be able to give you the most appropriate and accurate advice. Further, you can call us on our Stop It Now! helpline and we will endeavour to answer your questions or direct you to appropriate resources.
Best wishes,
Lucy
We are pleased that so many individuals are using the forum as a source of support and providing advice to others. We hope that you are able to continue doing this but please do be mindful that the advice that you are giving others is accurate. For instance, there has been some mention of images being irretrievable if they are deleted in a certain way, however, the police do have sophisticated equipment that can retrieved deleted files off of devices to examine them for further analysis. A solicitor or the helpline will be able to give you more information about this.
If you are seeking legal advice then we would advise that you contact a solicitor who specialises in these types of offences who will be able to give you the most appropriate and accurate advice. Further, you can call us on our Stop It Now! helpline and we will endeavour to answer your questions or direct you to appropriate resources.
Best wishes,
Lucy