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Hi All,
im new to this forum... my dad was unfortunately arrested back in May after a vigilante group turned up on their doorstep accusing him of sexually explicit chat online with a 14 year old. Needless to say this came as a huge shock to all of us. He admitted what they were saying in the live streamed video. Since then we have heard nothing from the police, we were told these investigations can take up to 18months-2years to get to the point of charges as they seized multiple devices. In everyone's experience what rough timeline are we looking at? This is an extremely difficult time for my family since the day of his arrest we have had no contact with him - he cannot say anything to justify what he has done. We feel like we are grieving someone that is still alive he definitely wasn't the man we thought we knew and loved.
im new to this forum... my dad was unfortunately arrested back in May after a vigilante group turned up on their doorstep accusing him of sexually explicit chat online with a 14 year old. Needless to say this came as a huge shock to all of us. He admitted what they were saying in the live streamed video. Since then we have heard nothing from the police, we were told these investigations can take up to 18months-2years to get to the point of charges as they seized multiple devices. In everyone's experience what rough timeline are we looking at? This is an extremely difficult time for my family since the day of his arrest we have had no contact with him - he cannot say anything to justify what he has done. We feel like we are grieving someone that is still alive he definitely wasn't the man we thought we knew and loved.
I'm so sorry you and your family find yourself in this position. From arrest until crown court was 18 months for him. It was a similar scenario to your dad's. Communication. Vigilantes. You'll find lots of information here so if you need advice just ask. X
Thank you for responding, it's just such an alien situation to us we have no idea of what the process is, it's been over 3 months now and we've heard nothing from the police regarding the case. At one point one of the officers said to my poor mum whilst you are affected by his crime your not the "victim" the 14 year old is (we hope it was a decoy not a real 14 year old) I almost wonder if they will even update us when he does get charged or if we will just find out through local news which just doesn't seem right. The system is broken!
I'm sorry that you find yourself on here, unfortunately this is not a quick process, 18-24 months is a realistic average timeframe, some peoples cases are quicker and some take considerably longer.
With regards to information from the police there is a good possibility you won’t get any real information from them, from there point of view your dad is an adult and the matter is between them and him. If you want to be kept updated the onus is on your dad to tell you what is happening, unless he has given permission for the police to disclose information regarding the case to you.
With regards to information from the police there is a good possibility you won’t get any real information from them, from there point of view your dad is an adult and the matter is between them and him. If you want to be kept updated the onus is on your dad to tell you what is happening, unless he has given permission for the police to disclose information regarding the case to you.
Thru, I'm so sorry you are in this terrible situation. It's such early days and your head will be in a complete tizz. Unfortunately, I can only relay our terrible situation in terms of timeline and you are completely right, the whole system is broken.
My Son was stung by vigilantes 3.5 yrs ago and he is being sentenced next Tuesday. It is a very long brutal path so be prepared for the rollercoaster effect on emotions
My Son's single mobile phone forensic took 2 yrs to come back (1 single communication offence ). It was another 13 mths before he was charged. After charging we did have to wait for specialist reports which delayed it somewhat.
I found my GP very supportive and you may also find calling the helpline useful and somewhere to turn when you need the support.
it's completely unacceptable for the process to take so long, it's brutal and life-changing but you will get to the end point somehow.
good luck , this forum has been an absolute godsend - we all understand your pain as we are in a similar boat.
My Son was stung by vigilantes 3.5 yrs ago and he is being sentenced next Tuesday. It is a very long brutal path so be prepared for the rollercoaster effect on emotions
My Son's single mobile phone forensic took 2 yrs to come back (1 single communication offence ). It was another 13 mths before he was charged. After charging we did have to wait for specialist reports which delayed it somewhat.
I found my GP very supportive and you may also find calling the helpline useful and somewhere to turn when you need the support.
it's completely unacceptable for the process to take so long, it's brutal and life-changing but you will get to the end point somehow.
good luck , this forum has been an absolute godsend - we all understand your pain as we are in a similar boat.
I'm 8 months in since the knock and the data from his phone is now going to the CPS. But it's just one devise for my husband not multiple, they checked the only other devise in the house on the day of arrest because I used it too and needed it for my therapy and course I was on. Not a clue how long this next step will be. We were told it should be quicker because we had 1 devise as multipul devises can take longer just as a pre warning.
The police wont communicate with you. They or his given solicitor/chosen solicitor will contact him if his bail is extended and the police will contact if they want a second interview which means they have their reports back usually. It's a long process unfortunately.
This whole experience is a grieving process. You grieve the person you used to know, the life you used to have. It feels like a punishment for yourself the wait but the process has to happen. We are the unfortunatly caught up in it all
The police wont communicate with you. They or his given solicitor/chosen solicitor will contact him if his bail is extended and the police will contact if they want a second interview which means they have their reports back usually. It's a long process unfortunately.
This whole experience is a grieving process. You grieve the person you used to know, the life you used to have. It feels like a punishment for yourself the wait but the process has to happen. We are the unfortunatly caught up in it all
I can't give any advice as I'm only 10 weeks in - I just wanted to say I'm really sorry. The wait is awful and lack of contact at a time when you want/need answers must be agony. X
It's all the unanswered questions we all have too, what did he do to trigger even being on this vigilante groups radar for them to target him? he must've done something prior to this else how would they know who he was!?
We don't know anything other than they did the sting on him for talking explicitly to a 14 year old and sent images to her, he was also trying to arrange to meet up with her.
we've cut all ties from him, nothing he can say will ever justify what he has done so we don't see the point in talking to him as it'll only cause more upset and trauma to us all.
How do we know if his bail is extended? Are the police obliged to give us any form of update? It just all feels so wrong that we don't know anything other than what the vigilante group told us and he admitted that night.
We don't know anything other than they did the sting on him for talking explicitly to a 14 year old and sent images to her, he was also trying to arrange to meet up with her.
we've cut all ties from him, nothing he can say will ever justify what he has done so we don't see the point in talking to him as it'll only cause more upset and trauma to us all.
How do we know if his bail is extended? Are the police obliged to give us any form of update? It just all feels so wrong that we don't know anything other than what the vigilante group told us and he admitted that night.
Hi
My son was caught by vilantes, his case took 1 year from time of arrest to crown court,he was on a app call wink for over 18
His video waa posted all over social media
We now 1 year post senescence
My son was caught by vilantes, his case took 1 year from time of arrest to crown court,he was on a app call wink for over 18
His video waa posted all over social media
We now 1 year post senescence
Unfortunatly the police have no obligation to tell you anything about the case, from there POV its nothing to do with you. If you ask they may give you some basic info but be prepared for them to refuse to give you anything.
The only time it seems that they do tend to be a bit more forthcoming with info is if there are children in the immediate family and then they are able to disclose on the grounds of safeguarding. For example the police were able to tell my sister about my partners offences but point blank refused to discuss it with me.
I doubt the vigilante group was targeting him specifically, I gather they insert themselves into chat groups, apps and dating sites, start talking to guys and see who bites.
The only time it seems that they do tend to be a bit more forthcoming with info is if there are children in the immediate family and then they are able to disclose on the grounds of safeguarding. For example the police were able to tell my sister about my partners offences but point blank refused to discuss it with me.
I doubt the vigilante group was targeting him specifically, I gather they insert themselves into chat groups, apps and dating sites, start talking to guys and see who bites.
When he was initially arrested myself and my sister have children (his grandchildren) and we had to speak to social workers obviously to make sure they were safeguarded from him. We have told them they will never see him again (which they 100% won't) so social workers are happy hat we are doing everything we can. Because there are grandchildren involved would the police be more inclined to tell us more then as this doesn't seem the case at the moment. Whilst they've been sympathetic to what he has put us through they don't seem forthcoming with information. I think it is so unfair for us to potentially find out via the local news when/if he is charged.
Thrudark bail is extended in 3 month sections thr first stage is a long wait. Did they give you any contact information? The police officer dealing with my husbands case gave me his email and phone number along with his police identifier number. I've never contacted him but he has always gotten back to my husband within 48 hours. You could contact them and ask if it's been extended they should be able to yell you that
I do have the email address for the officer dealing with the case and whilst he has been sympathetic to us all he seemed reluctant to tell us anything at the beginning of this. We are just over 3 months now so I'm wondering if it is worth me popping him an email to ask the question however we also don't want to appear annoying as whilst this is a massive deal to us and has destroyed our lives I'm sure he's busy with other cases too!? However I doubt he will update me on his own accord? Do you think it's worth it?
Contacting the OIC for an update can't hurt, the worst they are going to do is say no.
I just can't help feel like as we are only 3 months on that the police might get annoyed if we nag them for updates considering a lot of people on here seem to be waiting much longer. It's torture not knowing and waiting not knowing if they'll even update us or if we will find out via local news which I think would be appalling!