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Hola
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Group: Forum Members
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Visits: 2.7K
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+x+xHi everyone, Long listener, first time caller. I'm not really sure how to introduce myself but lets start with the offence, I guess. I'm currently awaiting sentencing for possession of indecent images and the whole thing has just thrown my life upside down and really does show you who your true friends are and the horrible conditioning of the great British public (or Scottish public, to be more apt). I have no idea the outcome if I'm looking at a prison sentence. If it helps; I was found to have around 270 images (6 of which were videos totaling around 15 minutes in combined length) around 1/3 of which were Category A. In the report these images were only "created" on my HDD on one day and were in an inaccessible portion of my HDD. The police (CPS?) confirmed they hadn't been accessed and appeared to have come down via a torrent I was downloading at the time. My solicitor can't even believe it even got to court. This eventually hit a local paper last week and my life has now obviously shot to pieces with people putting me in the same bracket as Jimmy Savile et al. - This was furthered when a local Facebook vigilante group managed to somehow get a personal picture of me (no idea how, I don't have social media) and plastered me up for the world to see - When my friends saw it they let me see the mess too. I did plead guilty to possession off the recommendation from my solicitor and on that diet hearing was the day the papers found out and of course made me out to be some kind of wild beast roaming the streets looking to snatch children like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or something. This has obviously led to me being suspended from work for their own investigation to see about the future of my employment - However, even if I did keep my job there is no way in hell I'd feel comfortable walking back into the building given some of the threats I've received from some of my supposed "work-friends". I've written that job off to be honest - My worry is moving forward in terms of looking for a new job and having to disclose this. To be honest, I'm in a state. I haven't left my house in about a week for fear of a lynch mob chasing me down the street (bit extreme thought, but I'm sure some people on here understand). I'm just scared of the whole thing and what's going to happen. I have no previous convictions, the police have stated there is no pattern to show I am seeking all these images out. I'm awaiting a social worker getting in touch to go over my circumstances to put forward their views in terms of sentencing (I'm not sure if this is common or not). I just want this whole debacle over and to move on with my life but I know this'll never happen now. My life is never going to be the same. My sentencing is in January so this is going to be a long month I feel. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have about this - To a degree, I don't want to give too much information away that might identify me. Thanks for listening. Hi I am sorry to read your article and suggest as you pleaded guilty many things will seem to disappear but DO NOT DESPAIR In regard to solicitors I wish I had done more research to find someone with the experience required; my case was different but was a sex offence. I will start by saying the person I am recommending is only known to me from when I researched to have SOPO conditions removed and we have been successful. I do wish I had him for my sentencing. Have a look at the link below and if you feel comfortable call Michael. He is honest, straight forward and I know for a fact he recently worked on a case like yours
http://www.andrewstorchsolicitors.com/our-people/michael-phillips/
I will not give you my name; obvious reasons, but you can always come back here to ask questions -- of everyone. No matter the stress in your life now, accept the past as you cannot change it but you can change your future by working hard and believing in yourself. Good luck from an EX 'sex' Offender My experience was v close to yours albeit over 7 years ago. I was living in Scotland, case in the papers, lost my job, lost all but 3-4 close friends, daughter stopped talking to me BUT point of this post is to say don't give up. Do all you can to minimise media - eg plead guilty to reduce details discussed that they can publish, move house and if poss area. We moved to England and I went self-employed to minimise chance of disclosure questions. I think I was lucky in that probation never asked me to disclose on any contracts I worked on, and ultimately one co I'd been at as a contractor asked me to go perm with no request for references of anything. Finally finally 5 yrs on my daughter said she was ready to see me and 18 mnths later we've just been on a 2 week hols together. I'm not writing this to gloat at all, just to show there is a way through, and the further away from it all you get the less it seems a problem - you can get through it basically. If you're nr Glasgow I know a really good counsellor - pm me if interested. I saw him weekly for over six months and he wrote a report completely refuting half of what the prosecution psychologist suggested from his 45 mins analysis of me, which was a big driver to 'just' getting 3 yrs probation and community service as opposed to anything custodial Stay strong and focused, learn from analysing what happened and why, and if she you show contrition adnd work hard to correct / understand you will get through it
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newstart
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 12,
Visits: 2.1K
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+xHi everyone, Long listener, first time caller. I'm not really sure how to introduce myself but lets start with the offence, I guess. I'm currently awaiting sentencing for possession of indecent images and the whole thing has just thrown my life upside down and really does show you who your true friends are and the horrible conditioning of the great British public (or Scottish public, to be more apt). I have no idea the outcome if I'm looking at a prison sentence. If it helps; I was found to have around 270 images (6 of which were videos totaling around 15 minutes in combined length) around 1/3 of which were Category A. In the report these images were only "created" on my HDD on one day and were in an inaccessible portion of my HDD. The police (CPS?) confirmed they hadn't been accessed and appeared to have come down via a torrent I was downloading at the time. My solicitor can't even believe it even got to court. This eventually hit a local paper last week and my life has now obviously shot to pieces with people putting me in the same bracket as Jimmy Savile et al. - This was furthered when a local Facebook vigilante group managed to somehow get a personal picture of me (no idea how, I don't have social media) and plastered me up for the world to see - When my friends saw it they let me see the mess too. I did plead guilty to possession off the recommendation from my solicitor and on that diet hearing was the day the papers found out and of course made me out to be some kind of wild beast roaming the streets looking to snatch children like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or something. This has obviously led to me being suspended from work for their own investigation to see about the future of my employment - However, even if I did keep my job there is no way in hell I'd feel comfortable walking back into the building given some of the threats I've received from some of my supposed "work-friends". I've written that job off to be honest - My worry is moving forward in terms of looking for a new job and having to disclose this. To be honest, I'm in a state. I haven't left my house in about a week for fear of a lynch mob chasing me down the street (bit extreme thought, but I'm sure some people on here understand). I'm just scared of the whole thing and what's going to happen. I have no previous convictions, the police have stated there is no pattern to show I am seeking all these images out. I'm awaiting a social worker getting in touch to go over my circumstances to put forward their views in terms of sentencing (I'm not sure if this is common or not). I just want this whole debacle over and to move on with my life but I know this'll never happen now. My life is never going to be the same. My sentencing is in January so this is going to be a long month I feel. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have about this - To a degree, I don't want to give too much information away that might identify me. Thanks for listening. Welcome khafka, I can totally understand being in a state and the journey for everyone who goes through this isn’t pleasant especially with the press being involved not helping matters. The waiting is one of the hardest things. A positive though, it’s great some of the people in your life have stuck by you and I hope they can give you some support going forward. A practical point, I know it’s Christmas, but do save as much money as you can incase your job/employment gets tricky. I would recommend getting out for a walk every now and then, maybe somewhere a bit further afield so you don’t feel like you’re looking over your shoulder? It’s winter so it’s often dark and you can wrap up (and hide a bit too), just to get some fresh air, maybe see some Christmas lights and distract your mind. As I said to someone else, some kind of talking therapy is great, just to keep calm if nothing else. Also if you want to talk (anonymously) about it to someone who knows all about this stuff, you can give the Lucy Faithful foundation a call, they’re really nice and trustworthy - 0808 1000 900, it’s good to talk about it. Stay strong. Hi Mr W, Thanks for nice welcome. My parents have found out with it being in the papers and all. They were my biggest worry however they have been fantastically supportive of me. I've started going for walks in the evening when its a bit darker and quieter outside. There's a nice river than runs near my house so I tend to walk along/chill there for a bit with a cigarette and just stare out into the city. Really quite peaceful. For what it is worth, the Facebook group have moved on to some other unlucky sod to target their abuse at but I'm under no illusions I'll probably crop up again in January. If I don't serve a custodial sentence then I'm sure the comments will be rife with people foaming at the mouth, baying for blood at the seemingly failed justice system. FAO: newstart
I wouldn't say the papers were overly one-sided as such. They were a bit vague, basically short and to the point "[CITY] man [MY NAME] from [STREET] pleads guilty to possession of 270 indecent images after home was raided on [DATE]. Sentence is deferred until January for social work reports" but it was enough for the masses to create their own picture in their heads and I'm sure you know how that then plays out. The first couple of days I barely left my bed but I'm finding myself now getting into more of a routine. Just small things I wouldn't necessarily done before. Like I'll go to the shop every morning to get a paper (I don't really read the paper but it gets me out the house). I think that sounds a positive step. For me - routine and time helped considerably, as well as chatting with some friends about things. Well my support network seems to be slowly dwindling now that office politics in my work is coming into force. Anyone who has "stood up" for me the last week or so is now wanting to distance myself for their own well-being so they're not getting hassled due to "siding with a horrendous paedophile monster" which is understandable. I've also parted ways with my closest friend tonight partly due to this but partly due to past things I've done. So now I'm essentially left with nothing in the space of 48hrs. Once January rolls around and depending on my sentence I'm contemplating moving out of this city but I have no idea what to do with that. I have a bit of money to last me but I think it might end up just being wasted if I move. Sorry to hear that, it does seem like it has been a very challenging time over the last few days. You will always find people to speak to here, but clearly it will lack the support of going for a proverbial (or real) pint with someone in real life. From the sounds of it, a move might be a bit premature, especially if money will be an issue as a result - I thought briefly about doing the same, but discounted it for that reason, just my personal view. Keep busy, keep doing things, in and out of the house. - Call Lucy Faithful, - at very least this will be something to do, but I think you might find some support there as well. They helped me a lot organise my thoughts and by extension help with life in general. find ways to spend your time and just take 1 day at a time. the old cliche of today's news is tomorrows chip paper does hold true. Try not to think too far ahead and worry about things that are out of your control. Thanks newstart. I can announce sadly that as of about 20 minutes ago I am now unemployed as my contract was terminated with immediate effect. I'm not super shocked and surprised and I always said I don't think I could walk back into the office anyway regardless. Although it is a strange feeling signing on after 10 years! I'm still on the fence about moving. I like my home, I've been here for years but my last friend that walked away last night strongly urged me to move just in case some mob kicks my door in and gives me a good kicking - I honestly can't really see that happening, and if they do I'll just report them to the police. I have discussed with my parents about a name change and their thoughts on it. Again, they were super supportive about it and understood my reasons for it and I think I have "new" name I like which also has some ties to my family but totally different from my birth name. I'll be looking at doing this after my sentencing to help alleviate a bit of the Google effect as I have a very unique name which shows up my crime instantly on Google. The plus sides I'm taking from this is now I now 100% where I stand in terms of my employment, I have a plan in place name wise after my sentencing so I'm feeling like I'm a little bit in control. I also took a call from a police officer yesterday to have him come round to discuss my case for the social work team and advised he'd be managing me. He seemed really nice on the phone so touch wood on that! I've read various stories of people's officers/PPU being a bit jobsworthy and a rough to work with. Now I guess it is just a case of waiting until January. All my main stresses are now gone as they've reached all their natural conclusions. I'm also not stressed about my sentence, there's no point. It won't change anything. Stressing about something like this is just like paying interest on something that hasn't happened yet. I do really like this forum so I will be sticking around. It is nice to have fellow people who are in a similar situation or have gone through it and have zero judgement.  There are many good folks here who have been where you are and now ahead in various stages. I am sure you will find some comfort in the pages. I think it is good you have found some positives in what is a dire situation, and that is the best way to be. no matter what the odds/challenges, find a positive - usually there are some. my lowest points were the unknown , waiting and sentencing. Does sound like you are mostly there, - no matter what the sentence , I am sure you will feel better after and you are correct, you cant worry too much about it I might add, that if there is a bit of time before this date and you can do anything to help your position with the court, any courses or calls or therapy or anything really - this may help. The judge will be looking to see you have taken ownership and might help even just 1% if you have started that journey yourself. It would also give you something to do in the interim. Stay strong. It will get better
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khafka
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 328,
Visits: 18K
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xHi everyone, Long listener, first time caller. I'm not really sure how to introduce myself but lets start with the offence, I guess. I'm currently awaiting sentencing for possession of indecent images and the whole thing has just thrown my life upside down and really does show you who your true friends are and the horrible conditioning of the great British public (or Scottish public, to be more apt). I have no idea the outcome if I'm looking at a prison sentence. If it helps; I was found to have around 270 images (6 of which were videos totaling around 15 minutes in combined length) around 1/3 of which were Category A. In the report these images were only "created" on my HDD on one day and were in an inaccessible portion of my HDD. The police (CPS?) confirmed they hadn't been accessed and appeared to have come down via a torrent I was downloading at the time. My solicitor can't even believe it even got to court. This eventually hit a local paper last week and my life has now obviously shot to pieces with people putting me in the same bracket as Jimmy Savile et al. - This was furthered when a local Facebook vigilante group managed to somehow get a personal picture of me (no idea how, I don't have social media) and plastered me up for the world to see - When my friends saw it they let me see the mess too. I did plead guilty to possession off the recommendation from my solicitor and on that diet hearing was the day the papers found out and of course made me out to be some kind of wild beast roaming the streets looking to snatch children like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or something. This has obviously led to me being suspended from work for their own investigation to see about the future of my employment - However, even if I did keep my job there is no way in hell I'd feel comfortable walking back into the building given some of the threats I've received from some of my supposed "work-friends". I've written that job off to be honest - My worry is moving forward in terms of looking for a new job and having to disclose this. To be honest, I'm in a state. I haven't left my house in about a week for fear of a lynch mob chasing me down the street (bit extreme thought, but I'm sure some people on here understand). I'm just scared of the whole thing and what's going to happen. I have no previous convictions, the police have stated there is no pattern to show I am seeking all these images out. I'm awaiting a social worker getting in touch to go over my circumstances to put forward their views in terms of sentencing (I'm not sure if this is common or not). I just want this whole debacle over and to move on with my life but I know this'll never happen now. My life is never going to be the same. My sentencing is in January so this is going to be a long month I feel. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have about this - To a degree, I don't want to give too much information away that might identify me. Thanks for listening. Welcome khafka, I can totally understand being in a state and the journey for everyone who goes through this isn’t pleasant especially with the press being involved not helping matters. The waiting is one of the hardest things. A positive though, it’s great some of the people in your life have stuck by you and I hope they can give you some support going forward. A practical point, I know it’s Christmas, but do save as much money as you can incase your job/employment gets tricky. I would recommend getting out for a walk every now and then, maybe somewhere a bit further afield so you don’t feel like you’re looking over your shoulder? It’s winter so it’s often dark and you can wrap up (and hide a bit too), just to get some fresh air, maybe see some Christmas lights and distract your mind. As I said to someone else, some kind of talking therapy is great, just to keep calm if nothing else. Also if you want to talk (anonymously) about it to someone who knows all about this stuff, you can give the Lucy Faithful foundation a call, they’re really nice and trustworthy - 0808 1000 900, it’s good to talk about it. Stay strong. Hi Mr W, Thanks for nice welcome. My parents have found out with it being in the papers and all. They were my biggest worry however they have been fantastically supportive of me. I've started going for walks in the evening when its a bit darker and quieter outside. There's a nice river than runs near my house so I tend to walk along/chill there for a bit with a cigarette and just stare out into the city. Really quite peaceful. For what it is worth, the Facebook group have moved on to some other unlucky sod to target their abuse at but I'm under no illusions I'll probably crop up again in January. If I don't serve a custodial sentence then I'm sure the comments will be rife with people foaming at the mouth, baying for blood at the seemingly failed justice system. FAO: newstart
I wouldn't say the papers were overly one-sided as such. They were a bit vague, basically short and to the point "[CITY] man [MY NAME] from [STREET] pleads guilty to possession of 270 indecent images after home was raided on [DATE]. Sentence is deferred until January for social work reports" but it was enough for the masses to create their own picture in their heads and I'm sure you know how that then plays out. The first couple of days I barely left my bed but I'm finding myself now getting into more of a routine. Just small things I wouldn't necessarily done before. Like I'll go to the shop every morning to get a paper (I don't really read the paper but it gets me out the house). I think that sounds a positive step. For me - routine and time helped considerably, as well as chatting with some friends about things. Well my support network seems to be slowly dwindling now that office politics in my work is coming into force. Anyone who has "stood up" for me the last week or so is now wanting to distance myself for their own well-being so they're not getting hassled due to "siding with a horrendous paedophile monster" which is understandable. I've also parted ways with my closest friend tonight partly due to this but partly due to past things I've done. So now I'm essentially left with nothing in the space of 48hrs. Once January rolls around and depending on my sentence I'm contemplating moving out of this city but I have no idea what to do with that. I have a bit of money to last me but I think it might end up just being wasted if I move. Sorry to hear that, it does seem like it has been a very challenging time over the last few days. You will always find people to speak to here, but clearly it will lack the support of going for a proverbial (or real) pint with someone in real life. From the sounds of it, a move might be a bit premature, especially if money will be an issue as a result - I thought briefly about doing the same, but discounted it for that reason, just my personal view. Keep busy, keep doing things, in and out of the house. - Call Lucy Faithful, - at very least this will be something to do, but I think you might find some support there as well. They helped me a lot organise my thoughts and by extension help with life in general. find ways to spend your time and just take 1 day at a time. the old cliche of today's news is tomorrows chip paper does hold true. Try not to think too far ahead and worry about things that are out of your control. Thanks newstart. I can announce sadly that as of about 20 minutes ago I am now unemployed as my contract was terminated with immediate effect. I'm not super shocked and surprised and I always said I don't think I could walk back into the office anyway regardless. Although it is a strange feeling signing on after 10 years! I'm still on the fence about moving. I like my home, I've been here for years but my last friend that walked away last night strongly urged me to move just in case some mob kicks my door in and gives me a good kicking - I honestly can't really see that happening, and if they do I'll just report them to the police. I have discussed with my parents about a name change and their thoughts on it. Again, they were super supportive about it and understood my reasons for it and I think I have "new" name I like which also has some ties to my family but totally different from my birth name. I'll be looking at doing this after my sentencing to help alleviate a bit of the Google effect as I have a very unique name which shows up my crime instantly on Google. The plus sides I'm taking from this is now I now 100% where I stand in terms of my employment, I have a plan in place name wise after my sentencing so I'm feeling like I'm a little bit in control. I also took a call from a police officer yesterday to have him come round to discuss my case for the social work team and advised he'd be managing me. He seemed really nice on the phone so touch wood on that! I've read various stories of people's officers/PPU being a bit jobsworthy and a rough to work with. Now I guess it is just a case of waiting until January. All my main stresses are now gone as they've reached all their natural conclusions. I'm also not stressed about my sentence, there's no point. It won't change anything. Stressing about something like this is just like paying interest on something that hasn't happened yet. I do really like this forum so I will be sticking around. It is nice to have fellow people who are in a similar situation or have gone through it and have zero judgement. There are many good folks here who have been where you are and now ahead in various stages. I am sure you will find some comfort in the pages. I think it is good you have found some positives in what is a dire situation, and that is the best way to be. no matter what the odds/challenges, find a positive - usually there are some. my lowest points were the unknown , waiting and sentencing. Does sound like you are mostly there, - no matter what the sentence , I am sure you will feel better after and you are correct, you cant worry too much about it I might add, that if there is a bit of time before this date and you can do anything to help your position with the court, any courses or calls or therapy or anything really - this may help. The judge will be looking to see you have taken ownership and might help even just 1% if you have started that journey yourself. It would also give you something to do in the interim. Stay strong. It will get better I had my first visit today. I think he was a PPU (I've seen that mentioned a few times but not sure what it stands for). Basically he was a police officer and had a partner with him. I got a leaflet with information about my notification requirements etc. contact details for him too. He mentioned he will be in charge of me/my case moving forward and that he'd visit my home potentially a couple of times per month and if I'm obviously showing no risk then the visits will drop to more infrequent. They had a wee look through my phone and PC and they didn't seem to find or at least they didn't mention anything so I trust they were satisfied. We spoke a bit about how I'm doing, anything on my mind/anything I might need help with. He seems really easy to talk to which I appreciate. I did tell them I will be as transparent and compliant as they need me to be. If I make their life easier surely that then makes my life easier? Roll on January so I can then start rebuilding myself.
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JASB
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Group: Awaiting Activation
Posts: 1.1K,
Visits: 1.7K
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+x+x+xHi everyone, Long listener, first time caller. I'm not really sure how to introduce myself but lets start with the offence, I guess. I'm currently awaiting sentencing for possession of indecent images and the whole thing has just thrown my life upside down and really does show you who your true friends are and the horrible conditioning of the great British public (or Scottish public, to be more apt). I have no idea the outcome if I'm looking at a prison sentence. If it helps; I was found to have around 270 images (6 of which were videos totaling around 15 minutes in combined length) around 1/3 of which were Category A. In the report these images were only "created" on my HDD on one day and were in an inaccessible portion of my HDD. The police (CPS?) confirmed they hadn't been accessed and appeared to have come down via a torrent I was downloading at the time. My solicitor can't even believe it even got to court. This eventually hit a local paper last week and my life has now obviously shot to pieces with people putting me in the same bracket as Jimmy Savile et al. - This was furthered when a local Facebook vigilante group managed to somehow get a personal picture of me (no idea how, I don't have social media) and plastered me up for the world to see - When my friends saw it they let me see the mess too. I did plead guilty to possession off the recommendation from my solicitor and on that diet hearing was the day the papers found out and of course made me out to be some kind of wild beast roaming the streets looking to snatch children like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or something. This has obviously led to me being suspended from work for their own investigation to see about the future of my employment - However, even if I did keep my job there is no way in hell I'd feel comfortable walking back into the building given some of the threats I've received from some of my supposed "work-friends". I've written that job off to be honest - My worry is moving forward in terms of looking for a new job and having to disclose this. To be honest, I'm in a state. I haven't left my house in about a week for fear of a lynch mob chasing me down the street (bit extreme thought, but I'm sure some people on here understand). I'm just scared of the whole thing and what's going to happen. I have no previous convictions, the police have stated there is no pattern to show I am seeking all these images out. I'm awaiting a social worker getting in touch to go over my circumstances to put forward their views in terms of sentencing (I'm not sure if this is common or not). I just want this whole debacle over and to move on with my life but I know this'll never happen now. My life is never going to be the same. My sentencing is in January so this is going to be a long month I feel. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have about this - To a degree, I don't want to give too much information away that might identify me. Thanks for listening. Hi I am sorry to read your article and suggest as you pleaded guilty many things will seem to disappear but DO NOT DESPAIR In regard to solicitors I wish I had done more research to find someone with the experience required; my case was different but was a sex offence. I will start by saying the person I am recommending is only known to me from when I researched to have SOPO conditions removed and we have been successful. I do wish I had him for my sentencing. Have a look at the link below and if you feel comfortable call Michael. He is honest, straight forward and I know for a fact he recently worked on a case like yours
http://www.andrewstorchsolicitors.com/our-people/michael-phillips/
I will not give you my name; obvious reasons, but you can always come back here to ask questions -- of everyone. No matter the stress in your life now, accept the past as you cannot change it but you can change your future by working hard and believing in yourself. Good luck from an EX 'sex' Offender My experience was v close to yours albeit over 7 years ago. I was living in Scotland, case in the papers, lost my job, lost all but 3-4 close friends, daughter stopped talking to me BUT point of this post is to say don't give up. Do all you can to minimise media - eg plead guilty to reduce details discussed that they can publish, move house and if poss area. We moved to England and I went self-employed to minimise chance of disclosure questions. I think I was lucky in that probation never asked me to disclose on any contracts I worked on, and ultimately one co I'd been at as a contractor asked me to go perm with no request for references of anything. Finally finally 5 yrs on my daughter said she was ready to see me and 18 mnths later we've just been on a 2 week hols together. I'm not writing this to gloat at all, just to show there is a way through, and the further away from it all you get the less it seems a problem - you can get through it basically. If you're nr Glasgow I know a really good counsellor - pm me if interested. I saw him weekly for over six months and he wrote a report completely refuting half of what the prosecution psychologist suggested from his 45 mins analysis of me, which was a big driver to 'just' getting 3 yrs probation and community service as opposed to anything custodial Stay strong and focused, learn from analysing what happened and why, and if she you show contrition adnd work hard to correct / understand you will get through it Hi many thanks for your reply and know I do not take anyone's words as gloating, if I did I would politely mention for them not to. I am also pleased your family is overcoming the emotions felt by many of us. My offence was now over 10 years ago (paid for sexual services) and I have gained immense experience and some knowledge of the justice system and its attitudes to offenders, especially sex offenders. My brief comments was really just to mention there is some good solicitors who will challenge the system. For clarity I had numerous pre-sentence psychological reports, also at HMP Whatton and then whilst on licence. All confirmed simple facts, I did not hold any underage age (<18) tendencies, and unsuitable for any sex offender courses. besides applying to have my SOR requirement discharged in 6 years, at present I have managed to remove all but 2 of my SOPO conditions. Those 2 conditions have been agreed hold no relevance to my offence except in a very far stretched linkage; they mention females. My PPU says I should apply to have them removed in a few years time unless I can prove I will not offend.They cannot tell me how I can do that given the positive character feedback I have received from all supervisory services since my arrest. My self belief balanced against my sorrow for societies lack of compassion always reminds me there are those less fortunate than me and so I have a responsibility to support them in some form no matter how small. Thanks and have a great christmas with your family. Good luck for today, be compassionate to others no matter their offence, and remember you are an ex-offender, a human being and have a life to live not only for yourself. but also those who love you.
Society suggests I must let go of all my expectations but I disagree, as whilst I have a voice, I have hope.
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope is for tomorrow else what is left if you remove a mans hope.
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This forum supports these words, thank you Unlock and your contributors.
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Our Alfie
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Visits: 12
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+xHi everyone, Long listener, first time caller. I'm not really sure how to introduce myself but lets start with the offence, I guess. I'm currently awaiting sentencing for possession of indecent images and the whole thing has just thrown my life upside down and really does show you who your true friends are and the horrible conditioning of the great British public (or Scottish public, to be more apt). I have no idea the outcome if I'm looking at a prison sentence. If it helps; I was found to have around 270 images (6 of which were videos totaling around 15 minutes in combined length) around 1/3 of which were Category A. In the report these images were only "created" on my HDD on one day and were in an inaccessible portion of my HDD. The police (CPS?) confirmed they hadn't been accessed and appeared to have come down via a torrent I was downloading at the time. My solicitor can't even believe it even got to court. This eventually hit a local paper last week and my life has now obviously shot to pieces with people putting me in the same bracket as Jimmy Savile et al. - This was furthered when a local Facebook vigilante group managed to somehow get a personal picture of me (no idea how, I don't have social media) and plastered me up for the world to see - When my friends saw it they let me see the mess too. I did plead guilty to possession off the recommendation from my solicitor and on that diet hearing was the day the papers found out and of course made me out to be some kind of wild beast roaming the streets looking to snatch children like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or something. This has obviously led to me being suspended from work for their own investigation to see about the future of my employment - However, even if I did keep my job there is no way in hell I'd feel comfortable walking back into the building given some of the threats I've received from some of my supposed "work-friends". I've written that job off to be honest - My worry is moving forward in terms of looking for a new job and having to disclose this. To be honest, I'm in a state. I haven't left my house in about a week for fear of a lynch mob chasing me down the street (bit extreme thought, but I'm sure some people on here understand). I'm just scared of the whole thing and what's going to happen. I have no previous convictions, the police have stated there is no pattern to show I am seeking all these images out. I'm awaiting a social worker getting in touch to go over my circumstances to put forward their views in terms of sentencing (I'm not sure if this is common or not). I just want this whole debacle over and to move on with my life but I know this'll never happen now. My life is never going to be the same. My sentencing is in January so this is going to be a long month I feel. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have about this - To a degree, I don't want to give too much information away that might identify me. Thanks for listening. Hi, I had a very similar experience to yourself. I had been sent 13 " insolicited" images by a third party. Like yourself, the police determined that I had neither requested, downloaded, searched or otherwise attempted to access the images. Of the 13 images 12 were "inaccesible" (deleted) the other one was " accesible" but had not been viewed. On the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty because, as she explained, the very fact that the images were found on my lap top, was a crime. I was sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work, 2 years on probation and made subject to a 5 year SHPO with 5 years on the SOR. I was arrested in January 2017. I have now discovered that the fact that the images were unsolicited and had been deleted should have been offered in my defence or at least in mitigation. My solicitor failed to advise me of this. I gave employed the services of another solicitor (expert in such cases) to see if I have any redress. Life will never be quite the same again but you 2ill survive. Best if luck.
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JGUK68
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 17,
Visits: 16K
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+x+xHi everyone, Long listener, first time caller. I'm not really sure how to introduce myself but lets start with the offence, I guess. I'm currently awaiting sentencing for possession of indecent images and the whole thing has just thrown my life upside down and really does show you who your true friends are and the horrible conditioning of the great British public (or Scottish public, to be more apt). I have no idea the outcome if I'm looking at a prison sentence. If it helps; I was found to have around 270 images (6 of which were videos totaling around 15 minutes in combined length) around 1/3 of which were Category A. In the report these images were only "created" on my HDD on one day and were in an inaccessible portion of my HDD. The police (CPS?) confirmed they hadn't been accessed and appeared to have come down via a torrent I was downloading at the time. My solicitor can't even believe it even got to court. This eventually hit a local paper last week and my life has now obviously shot to pieces with people putting me in the same bracket as Jimmy Savile et al. - This was furthered when a local Facebook vigilante group managed to somehow get a personal picture of me (no idea how, I don't have social media) and plastered me up for the world to see - When my friends saw it they let me see the mess too. I did plead guilty to possession off the recommendation from my solicitor and on that diet hearing was the day the papers found out and of course made me out to be some kind of wild beast roaming the streets looking to snatch children like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or something. This has obviously led to me being suspended from work for their own investigation to see about the future of my employment - However, even if I did keep my job there is no way in hell I'd feel comfortable walking back into the building given some of the threats I've received from some of my supposed "work-friends". I've written that job off to be honest - My worry is moving forward in terms of looking for a new job and having to disclose this. To be honest, I'm in a state. I haven't left my house in about a week for fear of a lynch mob chasing me down the street (bit extreme thought, but I'm sure some people on here understand). I'm just scared of the whole thing and what's going to happen. I have no previous convictions, the police have stated there is no pattern to show I am seeking all these images out. I'm awaiting a social worker getting in touch to go over my circumstances to put forward their views in terms of sentencing (I'm not sure if this is common or not). I just want this whole debacle over and to move on with my life but I know this'll never happen now. My life is never going to be the same. My sentencing is in January so this is going to be a long month I feel. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have about this - To a degree, I don't want to give too much information away that might identify me. Thanks for listening. Hi, I had a very similar experience to yourself. I had been sent 13 " insolicited" images by a third party. Like yourself, the police determined that I had neither requested, downloaded, searched or otherwise attempted to access the images. Of the 13 images 12 were "inaccesible" (deleted) the other one was " accesible" but had not been viewed. On the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty because, as she explained, the very fact that the images were found on my lap top, was a crime. I was sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work, 2 years on probation and made subject to a 5 year SHPO with 5 years on the SOR. I was arrested in January 2017. I have now discovered that the fact that the images were unsolicited and had been deleted should have been offered in my defence or at least in mitigation. My solicitor failed to advise me of this. I gave employed the services of another solicitor (expert in such cases) to see if I have any redress. Life will never be quite the same again but you 2ill survive. Best if luck. Our Alfie, please keep us updated regarding what this new solicitor says about your case. I am in a similar situation of yours (I could have wrote your post). Thank you
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khafka
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 328,
Visits: 18K
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Hi peeps,
Not sure if you're still interested in my journey but a slight update.
I got a letter through the post yesterday from PVG Scotland, looks like a disclosure thing saying that they are considering putting me on some anti-children list thing and I have to give reasons why I feel I shouldn't be put on it. Anyone done this before/had success? What kind of things are they looking for?
I've been asked to head to my local police station today for a questionnaire thing which the officer spoke briefly about when he visited earlier in the week. Looking in the forum I suspect its the "dreaded" ARMS one? Which to my short investigation online appears to be quite a stressful and intimate series of questions relating to my err... "private" habits, shall we say...
I've got nothing to hide and I don't consider myself to have any weird fetishes or anything this just feels a bit Orwellian/Thought Police to me which I'm not super fond of.
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khafka
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 328,
Visits: 18K
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+x+xHi everyone, Long listener, first time caller. I'm not really sure how to introduce myself but lets start with the offence, I guess. I'm currently awaiting sentencing for possession of indecent images and the whole thing has just thrown my life upside down and really does show you who your true friends are and the horrible conditioning of the great British public (or Scottish public, to be more apt). I have no idea the outcome if I'm looking at a prison sentence. If it helps; I was found to have around 270 images (6 of which were videos totaling around 15 minutes in combined length) around 1/3 of which were Category A. In the report these images were only "created" on my HDD on one day and were in an inaccessible portion of my HDD. The police (CPS?) confirmed they hadn't been accessed and appeared to have come down via a torrent I was downloading at the time. My solicitor can't even believe it even got to court. This eventually hit a local paper last week and my life has now obviously shot to pieces with people putting me in the same bracket as Jimmy Savile et al. - This was furthered when a local Facebook vigilante group managed to somehow get a personal picture of me (no idea how, I don't have social media) and plastered me up for the world to see - When my friends saw it they let me see the mess too. I did plead guilty to possession off the recommendation from my solicitor and on that diet hearing was the day the papers found out and of course made me out to be some kind of wild beast roaming the streets looking to snatch children like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or something. This has obviously led to me being suspended from work for their own investigation to see about the future of my employment - However, even if I did keep my job there is no way in hell I'd feel comfortable walking back into the building given some of the threats I've received from some of my supposed "work-friends". I've written that job off to be honest - My worry is moving forward in terms of looking for a new job and having to disclose this. To be honest, I'm in a state. I haven't left my house in about a week for fear of a lynch mob chasing me down the street (bit extreme thought, but I'm sure some people on here understand). I'm just scared of the whole thing and what's going to happen. I have no previous convictions, the police have stated there is no pattern to show I am seeking all these images out. I'm awaiting a social worker getting in touch to go over my circumstances to put forward their views in terms of sentencing (I'm not sure if this is common or not). I just want this whole debacle over and to move on with my life but I know this'll never happen now. My life is never going to be the same. My sentencing is in January so this is going to be a long month I feel. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have about this - To a degree, I don't want to give too much information away that might identify me. Thanks for listening. Hi, I had a very similar experience to yourself. I had been sent 13 " insolicited" images by a third party. Like yourself, the police determined that I had neither requested, downloaded, searched or otherwise attempted to access the images. Of the 13 images 12 were "inaccesible" (deleted) the other one was " accesible" but had not been viewed. On the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty because, as she explained, the very fact that the images were found on my lap top, was a crime. I was sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work, 2 years on probation and made subject to a 5 year SHPO with 5 years on the SOR. I was arrested in January 2017. I have now discovered that the fact that the images were unsolicited and had been deleted should have been offered in my defence or at least in mitigation. My solicitor failed to advise me of this. I gave employed the services of another solicitor (expert in such cases) to see if I have any redress. Life will never be quite the same again but you 2ill survive. Best if luck. "On the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty because, as she explained, the very fact that the images were found on my lap top, was a crime." That's the same advice I was given which is why I pled guilty, in hindsight I'm wondering if things would've been different had I not done that. Seems crazy though in my circumstance and yours, they've stated there is no pattern or anything and it was a one and done type deal. In the same thought process, if I were to accidentally download a Katie Perry album that was incorrectly labeled as something else, am I now a Katie Perry fan? What if I downloaded normal, heterosexual pornography and it turned out to be gay pornography. Am I now a homosexual? That's how it feels.
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Debbie Sadler
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 397,
Visits: 5.9K
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+xHi peeps, Not sure if you're still interested in my journey but a slight update. I got a letter through the post yesterday from PVG Scotland, looks like a disclosure thing saying that they are considering putting me on some anti-children list thing and I have to give reasons why I feel I shouldn't be put on it. Anyone done this before/had success? What kind of things are they looking for? I've been asked to head to my local police station today for a questionnaire thing which the officer spoke briefly about when he visited earlier in the week. Looking in the forum I suspect its the "dreaded" ARMS one? Which to my short investigation online appears to be quite a stressful and intimate series of questions relating to my err... "private" habits, shall we say... I've got nothing to hide and I don't consider myself to have any weird fetishes or anything this just feels a bit Orwellian/Thought Police to me which I'm not super fond of. Hi khafka I think you're probably referring to the Barring List. If you've been given the opportunity to give reasons why you shouldn't be put on it then it's definitely worth doing so. Have a look at our page on representations, reviews and appeals - this gives advice on the sort of things to include in any letter. I'm not sure what work you've been doing but, if you've not been working in any type of regulated activity then you need to make this clear as well as stating that you have no intention of working in this field in the future. Feel free to give the Unlock helpline a call if you need any help with this. Debs
Need Unlocks advice? Visit our self-help information site or contact our helpline
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khafka
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 328,
Visits: 18K
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+x+xHi peeps, Not sure if you're still interested in my journey but a slight update. I got a letter through the post yesterday from PVG Scotland, looks like a disclosure thing saying that they are considering putting me on some anti-children list thing and I have to give reasons why I feel I shouldn't be put on it. Anyone done this before/had success? What kind of things are they looking for? I've been asked to head to my local police station today for a questionnaire thing which the officer spoke briefly about when he visited earlier in the week. Looking in the forum I suspect its the "dreaded" ARMS one? Which to my short investigation online appears to be quite a stressful and intimate series of questions relating to my err... "private" habits, shall we say... I've got nothing to hide and I don't consider myself to have any weird fetishes or anything this just feels a bit Orwellian/Thought Police to me which I'm not super fond of. Hi khafka I think you're probably referring to the Barring List. If you've been given the opportunity to give reasons why you shouldn't be put on it then it's definitely worth doing so. Have a look at our page on representations, reviews and appeals - this gives advice on the sort of things to include in any letter. I'm not sure what work you've been doing but, if you've not been working in any type of regulated activity then you need to make this clear as well as stating that you have no intention of working in this field in the future. Feel free to give the Unlock helpline a call if you need any help with this. Debs Hi Debs! Thanks for the reply. That looks exactly what it is in relation to. I do have some testimonies already prepped on a recommendation from my solicitor. Including a close friend, a family member who is a respected police officer (not sure if this one would be allowed as it might be a conflict of interest?), my therapist of around 5 years that I've been seeing for mental health reasons, and one of the main folk in a local charity which I've done countless work with for the last 6-7 years or so. Hopefully they help a little bit! All of my previous jobs have never really had anything I'd say were intrinsically linked to working with children aside from when I worked in retail and obviously children would come in with their parents etc. but nothing in the teaching field or anything like that and to be honest, its not really a career path I've ever considered or had any interest in.
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