Family and Friends Forum

Hel28

Member since
November 2019

8 posts

Posted Wed March 18, 2020 8:37amReport post

My estranged husband has finally received the notice of criminal charge after almost a year since we had the knock. He is being charged with 19xcat a. 59xcat b. 25xcat c. Can anyone tell me if this means he could go to prison. It says if he pleads guilty the punishment may be reduced.

snowdrop

Member since
September 2019

178 posts

Posted Wed March 18, 2020 9:50amReport post

Hello Hel8

My partner was charged with five images... 2A,2B and 1C. He was told explicitly by his solicitor that the threshold for prison sentence is one (1) category A image.

Fortunately the judge have discretion on how high the number, how many category A... The most worst, the period of time viewing and what key words were used during the search by the offender.

BTW if he deleted them like my partner did this is no defence. As I've stated before in crown court he was accused of deliberately trying to conceal evidence.

His punishment was 12 months in prison suspended for 2 years.

Best wishes

Hel28

Member since
November 2019

8 posts

Posted Wed March 18, 2020 11:45amReport post

I hope he does go to prison. The charge is for making the images which I believe is making copies

majestictopaz15

Member since
December 2019

371 posts

Posted Wed March 18, 2020 1:10pmReport post

The wording of the charges are a bit weird and don't always reflect what the offender actually did with iioc. The term making could mean simply downloading and viewing, not necessarily distribution. Each type of charge is given a maximum prison sentence option but does not always mean they will be sent away at sentencing. It seems in quite a few cases these prison sentences are suspended.

My partner has a two year prison sentence suspended for two years.

If you are uncomfortable with them not going away to prison straight after sentencing I recommend getting in touch with LF to help you and get support. I understand that there are people who don't agree with the sentencing given sometimes and can be distressing. What ever your view on the matter I suggest hoping for the best outcome in your opinion but prepare for the worst.

Hel28

Member since
November 2019

8 posts

Posted Wed March 18, 2020 1:37pmReport post

Thankyou. Could I ask what LF is please

majestictopaz15

Member since
December 2019

371 posts

Posted Wed March 18, 2020 3:17pmReport post

Oops sorry. It's short for Lucy faithful foundation. They are a helpline service for all those involved in one way or another regarding these types of offences. They provide advice and support for families as well as offenders.

Zack

Member since
July 2019

74 posts

Posted Wed March 18, 2020 5:26pmReport post

My partner had less images as those and did go to prison. We were led to believe both before and after that that was unusual, and community based punishments were the norm at the tie. But it probably changes by judge, part of the country, or whatever is in the media at the time. As most of the images were in Cat B, it could be argued that they use that as the basis for sentencing - that's if they believe the Cat A are not representative of the total content. Making usually means that there is evidence that he accessed/viewed the images, but they were not retained/saved on the PC, or if they were - they were deleted at some point. He would be charged with possession if they were saved on his computer. The sentencing is the same for "making" and "possession", it just makes it easier for them to charge a wider range of people and lowers the burden of evidence. For these sort of offences it will be considered a low amount of images, obviously one is too many though.

You are right a sentence will usually be reduced for an early guilty plea. Whether it would make a difference between prison or not, I'm not sure. Depending on the circumstances some innocent people plead guilty, due to the early plea discount. So sadly I would take a guilty plea with a pinch of salt.