Our client was initially represented by the Duty Solicitor when he was first arrested in the first quarter of 2017, but after his police interview he did some research and found Lawtons, which specialises in sexual offences and allegations involving indecent images of children.
The case involved allegations where our client was both possessing and distributing indecent images of children, with over 2,500 Grade A images, 2,800 Grade B images and over 8,000 Grade C images.
After speaking with Nick Titchener, Director at Lawtons, we were instructed and a case plan was developed that allowed us to focus on the likely issues, in anticipation that the case was likely to be in Crown Court at some point once the Police Investigation was concluded.
Through his extensive experience of dealing with sexual offences, Nick was able to establish what needed to be done and put in place the necessary referrals that would enable the case to be presented in the coming months.
Due to his extensive involvement in the case from the outset, Nick was able to establish to the Prosecution’s satisfaction that our client had not been involved in distributing images, guilty pleas were entered to the allegations of possession.
This, together with the forward-thinking approach enabled the process of medical records and reports to be prepared and a comprehensive rehabilitation programme to be put in place even before our client was charged and given a court date, thus enabling us to persuade the Crown Court Judge to impose a Suspended Sentence Order when he eventually appeared before Aylesbury Crown Court some 9 months after the case had started. Without that forward planning and thinking, there would have been insufficient time to get our client assessed, and subject to a rehabilitative programme of counselling.
Whilst this approach required a lot of work by Nick and his client and family prior to there even being a Court date, the consequences of front-loading the work prior to the client being charged enabled the best possible outcome to be achieved once court proceedings had been commenced.
If you have been arrested or are currently under investigation by the police in connection with sexual offences or indecent images, contact us as for specialist legal advice as soon as possible. The importance of thorough preparation by experts who know what they are doing cannot be overstated.
