Family and Friends Forum

Hi Crushed,



I'm sorry you are in this situation like all of us here.

I don't know the answer to your question, but my own person is 14 years old, we had the knock in March and it's been radio silence since, I too would be interested in the answer to your question.



From what I can gather it depends on content and amount..if the officer had a decent breakfast and if the cps have had their weekly bowl movement, the judge swings freely with the wind.



There is no written guidance for us.



Sending big hugs

Naturalmystic,



It's bitter sarcasm from me, occasionally it comes out...I can normally contain it, but seeing the mental torture my child is going through brings it out.

I wish I knew the many things I know now. Our naivety of phones and children saftey online lured us into a false pretense of family safety, sadly one that will now have an impact for years to come.



An image seen and shared via Snapchat will haunt us, he is currently awaiting an asd assessment, has reluctance to communicate with us about it makes the unknown worse

The young person in our family was under 18 years and on the autistic spectrum. He attended youth court and received a 12 months Referral Order . He worked with the Youth Justice Service over the 12 months which included working through how and why he ended up getting into trouble online, some reparation work and volunteering in the community.

This link may be helpful to you about Referral Orders. https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/pronouncement-cards/card/referral-order/

A Youth Referral Order is classed as a conviction and will appear on an enhanced DBS. Hopefully for your son the police/CPS will decide not to prosecute or they could give him a Youth Caution. We did hope that the young person in our family would get a caution but the CPS decided it was in the public's interest to prosecute.

Thinking of you and your son.

Hi Crushed

Possession of IIOC 's (catergories A-C)

distribution of 1 Cat C image

The young person did have to pay a fine, I think it was around £100 (based on their savings)

I am not sure how much this information will help, as no two cases are treated the same at all.

Hi Crushed

Exactly, it appears to be a lottery whether the young person goes to court or not! As hard as it may seem, try not to worry too much about it, as you have no control over what the police /cps decide. It is best, if you can, to focus on the things you can control like is your son receiving any support or help? Are you being supported by the helpline?

If it does go to court please remember Youth Court and the Youth Justice System follow the principle child first, offender second. They want to help the young person get back on track with their life and help them not to re-offend.

I hope this helps you in some way.