Legal process before charge
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My son hasn't been charged yet. He was arrested on Friday. Admitted what he done straight away. Police told us his computer equipment will be examined before they decide to charge him. They said that could take around 5 months due to their workload. Please could someone explain the legal process?
Waiting to be charged. Could end in a caution? Unlikely but not impossible. So if he's cautioned , does he have to tell work? Can it all be dealt with through a duty solicitor at this stage?
If he's charged, how long before court appearance and what happens during and after that? Is legal aid a possibility?
What I know so far is he's been accessing images online for what he says is years. He's mid 20s.
I know this is a how long is a piece of string kind of question but for my own sanity I need to be practical about it at this moment. Also I'd rather know worst case scenario. Anything less than that will be easier (yeah right) to deal with.
Waiting to be charged. Could end in a caution? Unlikely but not impossible. So if he's cautioned , does he have to tell work? Can it all be dealt with through a duty solicitor at this stage?
If he's charged, how long before court appearance and what happens during and after that? Is legal aid a possibility?
What I know so far is he's been accessing images online for what he says is years. He's mid 20s.
I know this is a how long is a piece of string kind of question but for my own sanity I need to be practical about it at this moment. Also I'd rather know worst case scenario. Anything less than that will be easier (yeah right) to deal with.
The police will be need forensic analysis of his equipment for evidence, hopefully it will be quicker than 5 months but it can be a long process. He is very unlikely to get a caution because of the nature of the offence and length of time it's been going on. Assume they will seek to prosecute. It depends what he does when it comes to telling work, even with a caution he would go on the sex offenders register and might well have to tell his employer. You can pay for legal advice now but there's not much they can do until he is charged. So for any further interviews etc he can still use a duty solicitor I think or he then can either instruct the duty solicitor hes used to represent him or choose another solicitor when he knows his charges. I'm not sure the criteria for getting legal aid but that can be discussed with the solicitor and places like citizens advice can advise on that. Legal representation is essential so it's worth looking at what that will cost if he cannot get legal aid. When the police have gathered there evidence the file gets sent to cps for a decision. Then he will be charged either in person or by post. If its really serious it can be charged and straight to court. Otherwise they usually give 2-6 weeks notice of the court date. The first hearing will be at magistrates court, then depending on the offence he will either be sentenced that day if he enters a guilty plea, or a sentencing date will be made for either magistrates court or crown court. A lot of these offences are sentenced at crown court, so I guess that would be the similar 3-8 weeks after the first hearing. If he pleads not guilty then a trial date will be set.
Thanks Maria. That's really helpful