If you are being investigated for online or technology assisted sexual offending, researching possible outcomes will likely lead you to higher levels of anxiety and stress as your mind races to the worst case possibilities. You will almost certainly misunderstand what you read, and you will only feel more overwhelmed than before. You should seek out an experienced criminal solicitor to advocate for you. Although Safer Lives can't offer you this legal assistance, through this blog we can help you to understand the possible senetnecs and other outcomes and to consider some of the implications and impact of these upon you.
The following three outcomes from a police investigation will not result in a court appearance:
No Further Action If the Police do not find evidence, or the Crown Prosecution Service believes there is not enough evidence, or it is believed a prosecution or caution is not in the public interest, no further action will normally be the outcome and devices will normally be returned to you.
Community Resolution. These are designed for low level offending, and should not be used for sexual offences. However, we are hearing that they are being used by some police areas for dealing with people already convicted of sexual offences and who commit low level or technical breaches of their Notification Requirements (‘The Register’). In this way a Community Resolution might be used as a reminder to keep someone who is already subject to the Register, to keep to their conditions. These sanctions should not appear on DBS checks.
Conditional Caution. For some 'lower level' offences, where you take responsibility for the illegal behaviour, the Police and Crown Prosecution Service may feel that the public interest is better served by issuing a Conditional Caution. This would mean you don't have to go to Court. This would likely have a condition of attending education sessions or other work relevant to your behaviour, including the Safer Lives Programme. You would be added to the sex offender register for a period of two years, but there would usually be no Sexual Harm Prevention Order unless the Police applied to the Court for one. Not all police areas are favourable to using Conditional Cautions but their use is likely to rise.
If your case is prosecuted, and you are convicted in court, the court will normally be helped to decide upon a sentence by a Pre-sentence Report. These are written by Probation Officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (and by Community Justice Social Workers in Scotland). Safer Lives practitioners have written thousands of these during their careers. After reading the report, the Court will consider three different options, briefly explained below.
Community Order (called a Community Payback Order in Scotland). A Community Order can last up to three years and is managed by the Probation Service (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland). It commonly involves attending appointments with a Probation Officer (known as RAR or Rehabilitation Activity Requirement ‘days’) and can also include other requirements such as Unpaid Work (community service), group work programmes and electronically monitored curfews (‘tagging’). A Community Order always comes with five years of Notification Requirements (the sex offender register).
Suspended Sentence. The Court can pass a custodial (prison) sentence, but decide to suspend this for a period of time, up to two years. This means you only go to prison if you reoffend or don't complete requirements with the Probation Service. A prison sentence can only be suspended if the term of imprisonment is two years or under. A Suspended Sentence carries ten years of sex offender registration (Notification Requirements), or seven years if the period of suspended imprisonment is six months or less. A Suspended Sentence Order of unto 24 months will also normally be passed. This acts very much like a Community Order, allowing for Probation supervision and other Probation led requirements, as above, to be attached to the Suspended Sentence.
Immediate Custody (Prison). Some offences are judged to be so serious that immediate imprisonment is seen as the only option. Any sentence of over two years can not be suspended. People convicted of sexual offences are usually offered to reside on a vulnerable prisoner (VP) wing, separating them from the general prison population. Most sentences involve serving half of the sentence in prison and then a minimum of twelve months under Probation licence and supervision. Imprisonment of less than 32 months comes with ten years of sex offender registration upon release, or seven years if the period of suspended imprisonment is six months or less. Lifelong registration is imposed if imprisonment is 32 months or more.
For any conviction through the Courts, you should also expect to receive a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which will come with conditions of behaviour that are relevant to the offences, such as not deleting internet history, not using private browsing and making devices available for inspection. For communications offences you should expect some restrictions on contact with children outside of your family. SHPOs are not mandatory and are at the discretion of the sentencing court, but without strong in-court advocacy the default position is usually to pass one, and to include the templated conditions that the Crown Prosecution Service ask for.
If you are newly under investigation, you may feel that you have no influence over what sentence or outcome you get. However, the courts are very keen to know that you have responded positively to your arrest, and people who put themselves on a path of rehabilitation and reduce their risk of harming children will be able to demonstrate how they can be safely managed in the community. The courts will also want to know that you have considered and understood the harms of your behaviours on children and others.
Safer Lives can help you to better understand these possible outcomes, including which might be most relevant to you. Between us, we have written thousands of reports for the courts advising on sentencing, and we also have years of experience of working in prisons with sex offender populations. Although most of our clients don’t go to prison, for those people where immediate prison is a likely option, we can prepare you for what this would involve and how you could best manage it.
To book a consultation or to have a short chat about your situation, call on 0800 0435987, WhatsApp or text on 0747 668 3012 or email on info@saferlives.com.
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