Coming to 4 years and still no progress
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Hi everyone,
First got the knock in August 2021 and there was a report made by another parent about my OH messaging her underage daughter
His devices were seized and after a proper check they couldn't find any messages relating to him talking to anyone underage
However they did find 1x category b moving image which they believed to be of a child under 13 (they couldn't confirm the age at all) and they said someone called the child on instagram live and had her do stuff
A screen recording of the call was found on my OH phone but again, the person who made the call is not seen in the screen recording it's just messages being sent to the victim telling her what to show
Police confirmed her face was not seen and this isn't the parent that came forward about their child, this is a completely different child
My OH completely denied ever talking let alone calling a child. Fast forward to March 2025 he got called in for a voluntary interview
Solicitor advised that he tells the new OIC (there were two previous officers who had the case but have since left the police force) everything and deny any wrongdoing
The officer said it would be referred to a reviewing officer to see whether it will be transferred to CPS or not...
No response since. We texted/emailed the OIC but no response. What's the likelihood that my OH gets charged?
The forensic analysis does not show how the screen recording appeared on his phone. They agreed that another phone was used to record the call
What's even worse is that the Instagram account in question has been terminated and we couldn't even retrieve data to prove anything (we only recently found out the username after they disclosed it)
Instagram automatically deletes all data if nobody claims it in two years. So much confusion and a very long delay
Will the courts entertain it? He has since become a completely new man that much I can see x
First got the knock in August 2021 and there was a report made by another parent about my OH messaging her underage daughter
His devices were seized and after a proper check they couldn't find any messages relating to him talking to anyone underage
However they did find 1x category b moving image which they believed to be of a child under 13 (they couldn't confirm the age at all) and they said someone called the child on instagram live and had her do stuff
A screen recording of the call was found on my OH phone but again, the person who made the call is not seen in the screen recording it's just messages being sent to the victim telling her what to show
Police confirmed her face was not seen and this isn't the parent that came forward about their child, this is a completely different child
My OH completely denied ever talking let alone calling a child. Fast forward to March 2025 he got called in for a voluntary interview
Solicitor advised that he tells the new OIC (there were two previous officers who had the case but have since left the police force) everything and deny any wrongdoing
The officer said it would be referred to a reviewing officer to see whether it will be transferred to CPS or not...
No response since. We texted/emailed the OIC but no response. What's the likelihood that my OH gets charged?
The forensic analysis does not show how the screen recording appeared on his phone. They agreed that another phone was used to record the call
What's even worse is that the Instagram account in question has been terminated and we couldn't even retrieve data to prove anything (we only recently found out the username after they disclosed it)
Instagram automatically deletes all data if nobody claims it in two years. So much confusion and a very long delay
Will the courts entertain it? He has since become a completely new man that much I can see x
My understanding is that he can (probably will?) still be charged with possession / making of a Cat B image. Even if the police can't pin down anything else, that image is on his phone, and once it's there on your device it's very very hard to prove to you didn't possess it in the legal sense. I've learnt a lot about this as my ex is under investigation for one file of 8 deleted images he claims (and he may be lying) to have never solicited and to have instantly deleted. So in your shoes I would prepare yourself for that at least
Hi LittleRobin3
When I say he's a completely changed man, I mean he fell into deep depression, and although nobody knew about this yet, he still stepped down from work because of how much this ruined him
I still do not know whether he did this or not because I don't have any proof. He hasn't got any idea how that one image ended up on his phone. It wasn't hidden and it was just in the photos app in the mix of other everyday photos/screenshots
We have been contacting his solicitor but the solicitor says there's not much that can be done because the police aren't sure whether this case is "public interest"
My husband is a lot healthier mentally and physically, and took on therapy and working now. But I know this is still on the back of his mind
Thank you so much for the kind response and advice x
When I say he's a completely changed man, I mean he fell into deep depression, and although nobody knew about this yet, he still stepped down from work because of how much this ruined him
I still do not know whether he did this or not because I don't have any proof. He hasn't got any idea how that one image ended up on his phone. It wasn't hidden and it was just in the photos app in the mix of other everyday photos/screenshots
We have been contacting his solicitor but the solicitor says there's not much that can be done because the police aren't sure whether this case is "public interest"
My husband is a lot healthier mentally and physically, and took on therapy and working now. But I know this is still on the back of his mind
Thank you so much for the kind response and advice x
Hi Sad&Scared
This is what we were all sure of. Especially the solicitor. The phone was examined. He was interviewed like usual. Second interview was conducted more than 4 months ago now
The arrest was made back in 2021 as mentioned. If he was going to be charged he would have been charged by now, there is nothing else that they have on him
The solicitor is adamant that the police aren't confident enough that this will be entertained by the courts especially because of the huge delay over a single (serious) image found
I think what is making them stall is the fact that my OH had the right answers for all their questions. He denied ever viewing or even knowing about the image that was found on his device
It doesn't show how it got onto his phone even after it was sent for forensic analysis. The image wasn't hidden or anything either it was in the photos app in the mix of other normal images/screenshots
Even if he was charged, how can he prove his innocence when the Instagram in question has been terminated? And the police refused to disclose the Instagram account so the solicitor could help us do our own investigation?
Everyone deserves a fair legal process and without this data, I can't believe that he did this because it would expose who made the call and what IP address was used when the call was made (the police did not get this info, they admitted they didn't have this info during the second interview)
Thank you for responding and for your advice x
This is what we were all sure of. Especially the solicitor. The phone was examined. He was interviewed like usual. Second interview was conducted more than 4 months ago now
The arrest was made back in 2021 as mentioned. If he was going to be charged he would have been charged by now, there is nothing else that they have on him
The solicitor is adamant that the police aren't confident enough that this will be entertained by the courts especially because of the huge delay over a single (serious) image found
I think what is making them stall is the fact that my OH had the right answers for all their questions. He denied ever viewing or even knowing about the image that was found on his device
It doesn't show how it got onto his phone even after it was sent for forensic analysis. The image wasn't hidden or anything either it was in the photos app in the mix of other normal images/screenshots
Even if he was charged, how can he prove his innocence when the Instagram in question has been terminated? And the police refused to disclose the Instagram account so the solicitor could help us do our own investigation?
Everyone deserves a fair legal process and without this data, I can't believe that he did this because it would expose who made the call and what IP address was used when the call was made (the police did not get this info, they admitted they didn't have this info during the second interview)
Thank you for responding and for your advice x
@LittleRobin3
Well currently we are so behind on a lot of bills and playing catch up but we will definitely look into this if charged. This isn't a complicated case, if they were confident he did wrong, and feel his responses aren't good enough, it would have been sent straight to CPS already
There's nothing left to check and there's nothing they can find from Instagram. Even if they had a warrant and forced Instagram to find a way to get this data, it just wouldn't happen because it's in their policy that they permanently delete all data after two years unless requested within that two years...
A privately analysis will pretty much give us the same response, that they don't know how the video got onto the phone and that it shows it was originally a screen recording done with another phone
It definitely does not show that my OH downloaded anything because if it did, this would be a shut case long ago. They wanted to force him to admit the person talking to the victim on Instagram screen recording was him so they could then use that to charge him but he is adamant it was not him so they are now left wondering what to do...
I will send an email to our local MP and see what comes from it but with a sensitive case like this, they will most likely just say the police have unlimited time regardless of how we feel xx
Well currently we are so behind on a lot of bills and playing catch up but we will definitely look into this if charged. This isn't a complicated case, if they were confident he did wrong, and feel his responses aren't good enough, it would have been sent straight to CPS already
There's nothing left to check and there's nothing they can find from Instagram. Even if they had a warrant and forced Instagram to find a way to get this data, it just wouldn't happen because it's in their policy that they permanently delete all data after two years unless requested within that two years...
A privately analysis will pretty much give us the same response, that they don't know how the video got onto the phone and that it shows it was originally a screen recording done with another phone
It definitely does not show that my OH downloaded anything because if it did, this would be a shut case long ago. They wanted to force him to admit the person talking to the victim on Instagram screen recording was him so they could then use that to charge him but he is adamant it was not him so they are now left wondering what to do...
I will send an email to our local MP and see what comes from it but with a sensitive case like this, they will most likely just say the police have unlimited time regardless of how we feel xx