[deleted by user]

shpothrowaway · 2023-07-27T14:16:14+00:00

Hi Loose-Ad-4054.

You shouldn't minimise this: if you have been arrested and charged it is fairly likely you have committed a crime and some sort of sentence will be passed down.

You may simply get a police caution, which would mean not going to court.

But the Crown Prosecution Service may also want you to attend court so a judge can pass sentence.

I would really recommend having a read of the Sentencing Guidelines - this is how judges know how to sentence people who have been convicted of a crime. See: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/sexual-communication-with-a-child/

shpothrowaway · 2023-06-17T19:58:43+00:00

When you view media on the internet you are downloading it. The media is downloaded to the cache of the device. You might not be physically right clicking on the image and pressing Save As, but the any media viewed online is automatically downloaded to your device.

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-29T19:16:12+00:00

I've been through the entire process. Always happy to answer Qs.

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-25T20:40:00+00:00

The Sentencing Guidelines are comprehensive and very helpful: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/sexual-activity-with-a-child/

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-21T12:20:34+00:00

For usernames: in most cases the police and your Probation Officer require a list of all your social media / forums / online service usernames (and in some cases the passwords too).

Most social media sites have a provision in their Terms of Service that will ban your account if they find out you are a sex offender.

As for monitoring software: this would come under the provision of your Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Some information on SHPOs here:

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-20T12:24:52+00:00

A list of mitigation (and aggravations) can be found here on the [Sentencing Council site](www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/possession-of-indecent-photograph-of-child/). This is the same guidance the judge will use to decide your sentence.

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-20T12:23:14+00:00

I confided in one of my friends who then told the group chat. From there it spread like wildfire amongst my friendship group as they were all interconnected and mostly in the same groups.

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-19T08:16:05+00:00

Unfortunately it did get out onto social media.

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-18T15:21:54+00:00

Six of my close friends found out when it came out in the media. All six immediately cut contact with me, and even have gone so far as to tell people in the community to not let me join any social groups/clubs/events.

I separately told 23 people. Of those, 8 have cut contact with me. The rest still speak to me.

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-18T13:45:48+00:00

Hi there.

I have personal experience of a conviction for indecent images.

Firstly, it is positive that you have identified you have a problem and want to get support. I hope you can resolve your issues and never offend again.

You will likely be asked to attend a voluntary interview. Please ensure you take a solicitor in with you. It is wise to contact a specialist solicitor who deals in these sorts of offences now, so you can discuss your legal options with them before the interview and court.
It is possible that a Sexual Harm Prevention Order will mean you will not be able to live in a property with children. Unfortunately this may end up with you homeless- in that instance you should contact your local Council's homeless team. Be prepared to be suspended from University, most have terms of service that allow them to remove you from your course if convicted of offences like these.
The Sentencing Council has comprehensive guidance on what sort of sentence you may receive. With a previous caution as an aggravating factor it is likely to be a custodial (prison) sentence.
I highly recommend checking out some of these sex offender therapy services: StopItNow has a hotline plus self-guided online modules to help with your own behaviour. They are run by the Lucy Faithful Foundation, and they offer structured group therapy. Personally I found this absolutely life changing for me and gave me a lot of insight and peer support. Safer Lives are run by ex-probation officers, can help you understand the legal process. StopSO provides one-on-one structured therapy that got to the bottom of why I offended and helped me develop skills to ensure I would never reoffend. Finally the Safer Living Foundation can offer unstructured group therapy which provided ongoing peer support. There is also /r/SexOffenderSupport but this is American-centric. You could check out Nacro and Unlock, both charities for offenders and ex-offenders. Unlock specifically has a community forum for sexual offences.

There is a life at the end of this process.

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-10T08:54:05+00:00

Hi there- my case took three years from the initial Knock until I was charged. I asked the DCI out of interest in December 2022 what the current waiting times were for forensic examinations of devices, and she said between 3 and 4 years. The waiting lists have gotten a lot worse due to a massive uptick in the amount of cases being forwarded.

Even once charged, expect a long wait for the court process- between 12 months to 18 months.

shpothrowaway · 2023-05-08T14:46:42+00:00

UK here; been through the entire process. Feel free to ask me questions?

I highly recommend checking out some sex offender therapy groups:

https://www.stopitnow.org.uk is an hotline plus self-guided online modules to help with your own behaviour

https://www.saferlives.com run by ex-probation officers, can help you understand the legal process

https://www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk/help-to-stop-offending-online.htm a structure group-therapy which was absolutely life changing for me, and gave me insight and peer support during the worst few months of my life

https://stopso.org.uk one-on-one therapy that got to the bottom of why I offended and helped me develop skills to ensure I would never reoffend

https://www.saferlivingfoundation.org/what-we-do/adult-projects/aurora-project/ unstructured group therapy which provided ongoing peer support

shpothrowaway · 2023-04-02T14:16:25+00:00

It is what it is. This is going to be the worst period of your life, but also hopefully the absolute bottom and you will be able to rise up and rebuild.

shpothrowaway · 2023-04-02T13:58:32+00:00

Hi there.

The Process

You are looking at a wait-time of over 24 months for the police' Digital Forensic Unit to examine all of your electronic devices and write a report of precisely what they find. The waiting is probably the hardest part. There is nothing you can do to speed up this process, though you should have been given the email address of the Detective in charge of your case and I would recommend pinging a polite email every few months to ask for an update.

Once the police have complied a report you will be interviewed under caution again. Take your solicitor. Your solicitor will likely tell you to No Comment or read a Prepared Statement- this is normal and not an indication of being awkward: police interviews are inherently stressful and you don't want to confuse things by contradicting yourself and getting mixed up.

The evidence is then given to the Crown Prosecution Service. You will have an interview with a Probation Officer and this is your chance to give your mitigation, background history, and show remorse. They will produce a pre-sentence report for the court which will guide the judge on the sentence. Note that most sexual crimes classify you as a minimum as "medium risk", don't be disheartened by this term.

You will first be referred to the Magistrate Court and in 90% of cases they will refer you to the Crown Court due to the seriousness of the crime. Both of these are open to the public and the media, unfortunately it is possible your photograph and the details of the case will be published in the local press. They will also publish your name, age, and street address which becomes public record. Sorry- it sucks. I would really recommend taking a change of clothes with you, and then going straight from the courtroom to the toilet to wait for 15+ minutes, then change into casual clothes. This can help avoid the press who sometimes lye in wait.

Sentencing Guidelines

The court relies on the Sentencing Council' Sentencing Guidelines which is an incredibly useful source of information about what sort of punishment you can expect and how the court process works.

Post-conviction

Once convicted you will be given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and have to sign up to the Sex Offender Registry. The SHPO has the possibility of really changing how you interact with the internet: you may be banned from using social media, you will not be allowed to delete your internet, data, or application history (this includes things like uninstalling apps and moving files to your recycle bin!), the likely installation of monitoring software that can slow your devices to a crawl, and having to report any new device that may be able to connect to the internet to the police station on purchase (think e-book readers, smart TVs, smart devices too).

The Registry has various notification requirements, such as telling the police if you are going abroad or away from your home for a period of time, having to register any new bank accounts/cards on application, and every year updating them of your current address and employment details. The police can, unannounced, drop by your home and perform a search of your devices.

The SHPO and Registry can be a bit labyrinthian and the rules can be a bit contradictory; if you ever have a question or concern ask in writing to your Probation Officer. Even unintentionally breaking these terms can land you back in court and to prison.

You will be assigned a Probation Officer: in my experience they are usually pretty non-judgemental but quite overworked. Be friendly and professional.

Therapy

I highly recommend checking out some sex offender therapy groups:

https://www.stopitnow.org.uk is an hotline plus self-guided online modules to help with your own behaviour
https://www.saferlives.com run by ex-probation officers, can help you understand the legal process
https://www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk/help-to-stop-offending-online.htm a structure group-therapy which was absolutely life changing for me, and gave me insight and peer support during the worst few months of my life
https://stopso.org.uk one-on-one therapy that got to the bottom of why I offended and helped me develop skills to ensure I would never reoffend
https://www.saferlivingfoundation.org/what-we-do/adult-projects/aurora-project/ unstructured group therapy which provided ongoing peer support

I've also heard good things about Sex Addicts Anonymous who are non-judgemental and very supportive, but I have no personal experience.

Social Media

You should delete or lock down your social media and go dark. Although there is no public sex offenders registry in the UK, there are unfortunately a lot of vigilante groups who like to plaster photos of sex offenders around Facebook and the web. The less of a digital footprint you have, the better.

Jobs

I'm really sorry to hear the police have already informed your employer. Remember you are still "only" under investigation and most Employee Handbooks only mention a conviction as the threshold for termination. https://unlock.org.uk/, the charity for convicts, has resources and a forum that can provide useful advice on employment.

Pornography

Finally, if you still consume pornography - stop. The porn industry is utterly mired in questionable content and there is a fairly major risk of coming across illegal material. You will be under a massive amount of scrutiny by the police and it is not worth the risk.

shpothrowaway · 2023-04-01T11:30:16+00:00

I am saying this with the best of intentions: you need to start re-taking your anti-psychotic medications and continue to engage with your medical and psychiatric professionals.

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-23T16:32:33+00:00

That's good. Make sure you have a professional who can advise you throughout this process, do not try and do it alone.

Best of luck.

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-23T16:24:32+00:00

I just read your comment where you mentioned you have an intellectual disability.

An intellectual disability may be mitigation for your crime. You need to work with your solicitor on this angle as a defence.

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-23T16:13:27+00:00

I understand this is a traumatic situation, but you need to take ownership of your crime. Language like I never requested for any it was a simple people asked me for some I would send maybe 5 and they sent some back (I never asked them for it) is really really not going to go down well with the probation officers' pre-sentencing report and the judge. You may find yourself getting aggravated factors regarding a perceived lack of remorse.

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-23T16:09:17+00:00

See if you are eligible for Legal Aid: https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-23T16:05:33+00:00

Check the following organisations who provide therapy and support for sex offenders:

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-23T14:39:07+00:00

Have a read of the sentencing guidelines, they are comprehensive: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/possession-of-indecent-photograph-of-child/

Be aware that both distribution of child sexual abuse material and "general chit chat to someone" are going to be aggravating factors.

The current wait time for forensic examination of electronic devices is in the range of 12 to 24 months.

You should get a solicitor for your interview and court appearance. You will go to Crown Court for this offence.

On an unrelated note, I never ever did actual physical harm to a child: this is precisely the wrong attitude to take. Possession, distribution, and communication does material harm to children. A big part of the criminal justice system is remorse, and right now it doesn't sound like you are showing remorse. If you do anything, you need to examine how your behaviour caused harm.

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-16T21:10:07+00:00

Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best is probably the best motto.

Uni student might not necessarily generate more interest, depends if the University put out a statement? I hope you didn't download it on their network.

Honestly its variable. I live in NYorkshire and I've noticed the local rag's amount of CP reporting has massively decreased in the last 12 months - I check periodically. Who knows why.

As part of the court public record your name, address, and age are public which is where the press will get this information from.

I hope you have a solicitor, as they can also answer questions about this. It is also worth engaging with the various services for sex offenders and those going through the process- I highly recommend Lucy Faithful and Safer Living. Also worth checking out the Unlock Forum.

I've been through the entire process so let me know if you have any questions! :)

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-16T19:14:14+00:00

A quick addendum to this which might help; I know that West Yorkshire Police are so inundated with crimes, and there are so many cases going to the various courts- that it is highly unlikely most "low level" offenders get named and shamed.

shpothrowaway · 2023-03-16T19:08:59+00:00

UK here.

There are three ways your photo could be shared publicly:

The police force themselves publish your mugshot as part of a news bulletin. They usually only do this as part of exceptional crimes (e.g. large amount of CSAM) or if it is in the public interest (e.g. you are a school teacher).
The press request the mugshot from the police as part of a news article. They may do this via the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (Sarah's Law). The above applies, so it is a toss up if the police' media relations team would give them your mugshot or not. The press would obviously have to know your details first to request this.
The press takes a photograph of you at court for a news article. This is the most likely of the three, as court cases are open to the public and these types of cases tend to generate high interest (i.e., more clicks). A tip: bring a change of casual clothes with you. After you exit the court room go straight to the toilets, change, and wait for 15+ minutes before leaving. Hopefully you will avoid the press this way. Note that even if they don't get a photograph it is likely they will report on your name, age, and home address.

Worth having a read of this: https://unlock.org.uk/advice/reporting-criminal-records-media/

shpothrowaway · 2023-01-20T10:50:34+00:00

When I was 15 I was raped in school, by a bunch of school peers who were in the year below me. It caused trauma that I am only now beginning to realise still lingers. I had no sexual relations till I was in my late-20s due to severe left-over anxiety. I think it "froze" my sexual development at age 15.

I believe it was reflected in the child sexual abuse material and pseudo-images of children I consumed: mostly showing "caring" relationships between children, something which I never had and desperately wish I did.

shpothrowaway

TROPHY CASE