Investigated but not arrested?
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We had the knock about a month ago. The police searched the house but wouldn’t tell us why. We only worked it out when we read the warrant after they left which said it’s to do with iioc.
My SO was visited at work and phone was taken. They told him someone he knows has been found with iioc and his name has come up. I have asked him about this and he says he doesn’t know what’s going on and can’t come up with anything it could be.
Originally we were told two weeks until we heard and he’s have his phone back but at the two week mark we contacted and were told it can take up to months. Have contacted them for any updates and have been told there aren’t any and that they’d probably get back to us end of April as the officer is on holiday. In the meantime they have contacted close family members - not giving any details but have said he can’t be with children unsupervised.
Does this sound like he’s done something or a mistake? He hasn’t been arrested or asked for an interview and I can’t see him doing this and believe him one minute then the next I’m doubting him and wondering why there’s even an investigation in the first place?
I also feel angry with the police. I know they have to follow protocol but I feel like the way they’ve handled this is unfair. I'd appreciate others thoughts or experiences with a similar situation. I don't know just how serious this is for my partner and feel lost.
My SO was visited at work and phone was taken. They told him someone he knows has been found with iioc and his name has come up. I have asked him about this and he says he doesn’t know what’s going on and can’t come up with anything it could be.
Originally we were told two weeks until we heard and he’s have his phone back but at the two week mark we contacted and were told it can take up to months. Have contacted them for any updates and have been told there aren’t any and that they’d probably get back to us end of April as the officer is on holiday. In the meantime they have contacted close family members - not giving any details but have said he can’t be with children unsupervised.
Does this sound like he’s done something or a mistake? He hasn’t been arrested or asked for an interview and I can’t see him doing this and believe him one minute then the next I’m doubting him and wondering why there’s even an investigation in the first place?
I also feel angry with the police. I know they have to follow protocol but I feel like the way they’ve handled this is unfair. I'd appreciate others thoughts or experiences with a similar situation. I don't know just how serious this is for my partner and feel lost.
I don't know exactly the rules regarding what the police can and can't do, you might be better off posting on the "discussion and support" page as that gets more traffic.
I will tell you what happened with my OH as this is what I understand of police procedure.
knock - devices seized as "acting on intelligence" - OH had interview at police station. He was never arrested and "released under investigation" rather than bailed. Police did not contact family members to say no unsupervised access to children.
All my devices were returned within a month (my phone that day, laptop in a week or so)
it took nearly a year for charges.
if IIOC are found on phone, your person will never have it returned
the "intelligence" was a report from social media site
I don't know if any of this information might be of help.
if your person was interviewed, did they have a solicitor with them? If so, the solicitor should provide a written report of the interview
I will tell you what happened with my OH as this is what I understand of police procedure.
knock - devices seized as "acting on intelligence" - OH had interview at police station. He was never arrested and "released under investigation" rather than bailed. Police did not contact family members to say no unsupervised access to children.
All my devices were returned within a month (my phone that day, laptop in a week or so)
it took nearly a year for charges.
if IIOC are found on phone, your person will never have it returned
the "intelligence" was a report from social media site
I don't know if any of this information might be of help.
if your person was interviewed, did they have a solicitor with them? If so, the solicitor should provide a written report of the interview
Thanks for your reply I wasn’t sure which would be the best forum to post under.
Do you mind me asking - why were the devices returned if there were charges?
There hasn’t been an interview. They only visited and took his phone. We were told no solicitors advised at this point. After that we’ve been left in the dark including my OH and told everyone to go about life as normal whilst they investigate (easier said than done!). It just all seems really strange and confusing.
Do you mind me asking - why were the devices returned if there were charges?
There hasn’t been an interview. They only visited and took his phone. We were told no solicitors advised at this point. After that we’ve been left in the dark including my OH and told everyone to go about life as normal whilst they investigate (easier said than done!). It just all seems really strange and confusing.
Hey Ocean,
The devices would've been returned as they'll have been able to confirm they belonged to the poster rather than her partner. It seems to vary as to how harsh they are with the seizing of devices, in my case, my phone and laptop was left with me and his Playstation was left with us too whereas other people will have all devices in the house removed.
I would say he hasn't been arrested due to lack of evidence and I wouldn't imagine they would lie about his name being mentioned if it was a case of police intelligence which usually means a report has come to them from a social media site or internet provider. It wouldn't be out of the question for someone he knows to have tried to blame him for something they have done and the police will have to investigate, which is very unfair on you all to be dragged through the process if it is a malicious allegation! There is a case on here where silly p*rn videos in a men's Whatsapp group got classified as iioc even though they weren't and the police also tried to charge my partner for the same thing but luckily the CPS didn't agree. Is your husband in any group chats with people where what I like to call "building site banter" is shared? That's the only thing it could be if it isn't a malicious allegation from what you've said xx
The devices would've been returned as they'll have been able to confirm they belonged to the poster rather than her partner. It seems to vary as to how harsh they are with the seizing of devices, in my case, my phone and laptop was left with me and his Playstation was left with us too whereas other people will have all devices in the house removed.
I would say he hasn't been arrested due to lack of evidence and I wouldn't imagine they would lie about his name being mentioned if it was a case of police intelligence which usually means a report has come to them from a social media site or internet provider. It wouldn't be out of the question for someone he knows to have tried to blame him for something they have done and the police will have to investigate, which is very unfair on you all to be dragged through the process if it is a malicious allegation! There is a case on here where silly p*rn videos in a men's Whatsapp group got classified as iioc even though they weren't and the police also tried to charge my partner for the same thing but luckily the CPS didn't agree. Is your husband in any group chats with people where what I like to call "building site banter" is shared? That's the only thing it could be if it isn't a malicious allegation from what you've said xx
Thank you for your reply. He has got some friends who will send pictures and videos which are “building site banter” but we are always together and although it annoys me I’ve never seen anything involving people I’ve considered under age. Even then he doesn’t share anything back and doesn’t really respond.
Was that ultimately what led to your partner being investigated? I’m glad that they didn’t find anything malicious with your situation it’s a very scary place to be I don’t wish it on anyone.
Was that ultimately what led to your partner being investigated? I’m glad that they didn’t find anything malicious with your situation it’s a very scary place to be I don’t wish it on anyone.
My partner was arrested for a communication offence but upon searching of his phone they found a couple of videos he had been sent which they construed as illegal, they didn't charge for them luckily but when they were brought up in court the judge stated that they were meant to be funny and not sexual. There have also been a couple of cases on here which are similar and the image/video is debatable (unlikely) if it's a minor but the police push for it to be. It's really difficult to try and work out what is going on but hopefully it is something of this nature and it'll be resolved as such. My partner has since left groups which send stupid and tasteless crap every now and again because it's just not worth the risk when you're up against the CJS trying to portray things as they're not.
I didn’t realise the amount of possibilities of what could lead to someone being investigated. It’s awful because your mind goes to the worst place. I’m holding out hope but the waiting game feels like torture. I’ve lost faith in the police honestly - it feels like they drag things out and you feel like you’re being treated more as guilty until proven innocent than the other way round. Did you have a solicitor working with you?
This journey certainly opens your eyes to a lot that you had no idea about previously. It's horrendous waiting for things to happen. There have been cases where people are arrested for iioc and then nothing materialises but the police never seem to explain what alerted them which is frustrating. Equally, there are cases where the arrested person will swear blindly they've done nothing wrong but searches reveal the opposite. For us, it's the hell of waiting in limbo to find out which one it is, which when it comes back with nothing you feel awful for even doubting it. You most certainly are treated guilty before you're sentenced and it's difficult to confide in people because of the stigma even if found not guilty. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!
We stuck with the firm the duty solicitor was from which was not good because they didn't do what they were meant to. The first solicitor at the first interview was fine because it was advised no comment throughout but the second solicitor at the second interview wrongly allowed the police to use tactics they shouldn't and question for too long, from then the barrister preparing the case failed to present a defence statement when required which negatively impacted the case so we ended up complaining and they then provided a good barrister who actually listened and did what they needed to.
If you're thinking of looking for a solicitor pre-empting any further interaction with the police then it will be expensive but may be worthwhile, particularly if they are experienced in cases like this.
We stuck with the firm the duty solicitor was from which was not good because they didn't do what they were meant to. The first solicitor at the first interview was fine because it was advised no comment throughout but the second solicitor at the second interview wrongly allowed the police to use tactics they shouldn't and question for too long, from then the barrister preparing the case failed to present a defence statement when required which negatively impacted the case so we ended up complaining and they then provided a good barrister who actually listened and did what they needed to.
If you're thinking of looking for a solicitor pre-empting any further interaction with the police then it will be expensive but may be worthwhile, particularly if they are experienced in cases like this.
You have really hit the nail on the head with explaining how this whole experience feels. Straight after the knock my mind went straight to the worst case scenario - now there's fear of so many other possibilities. Not knowing is so hard! Do you brace yourself for the worst or hope for the best? Is it more complicated?
We are still waiting and I'm constantly up and down. It's so hard to balance normal life with what your mind is doing. Finding motivation to carry on is so hard because it's always there. I don't know how we do it. I feel like I'm not really living still after 2 months I'm falling more behind in everything else in my life nothing feels important and I'm scared of making good memories with my partner in fear of losing it all.
I think until we hear anything more that we will wait on getting a solicitor but I don't know whether to start preparing.. it feels so much like police have your life and future in their hands and it can go any way :(
We are still waiting and I'm constantly up and down. It's so hard to balance normal life with what your mind is doing. Finding motivation to carry on is so hard because it's always there. I don't know how we do it. I feel like I'm not really living still after 2 months I'm falling more behind in everything else in my life nothing feels important and I'm scared of making good memories with my partner in fear of losing it all.
I think until we hear anything more that we will wait on getting a solicitor but I don't know whether to start preparing.. it feels so much like police have your life and future in their hands and it can go any way :(
Ocean, BaffledB
This the awful thing about this situation, I feel like I've lost my innocence, I look at everything through the lens of these offences. Like somewhere else on this forum I read today someone was mentioning about safety plans and not moving around communal parts of the house in a state of undress - I have often been known to dash from the bathroom to the bedroom in nothing but a towel, or occasionally just nothing (but not when the kids or anyone other than my OH was about) and the kids when they were little would often take to running around naked after a bath until I was able to grab them and get them into PJs, and this now has me wondering if I am some kind of unsavoury weirdo or worse :-(
This the awful thing about this situation, I feel like I've lost my innocence, I look at everything through the lens of these offences. Like somewhere else on this forum I read today someone was mentioning about safety plans and not moving around communal parts of the house in a state of undress - I have often been known to dash from the bathroom to the bedroom in nothing but a towel, or occasionally just nothing (but not when the kids or anyone other than my OH was about) and the kids when they were little would often take to running around naked after a bath until I was able to grab them and get them into PJs, and this now has me wondering if I am some kind of unsavoury weirdo or worse :-(