Client Avoids Custody For Distributing Indecent Images

Case study summary

Our client avoided custody and was sentenced to a community order for distributing indecent images. This was due to persuasive mitigation that we compiled, including references, an expert report, and letters from his therapist which showed that the offending was out of character.

Case study

Our client contacted us after his initial interview with the police following his arrest for allegedly attempting to have sexual communications with a minor. He was later further arrested for possession and distribution of indecent images of children. During the investigation stage, we represented our client at two further police interviews, and ensured he received expert legal advice and support throughout.

Our client was charged with the distribution of indecent images of children. He took responsibility for his actions from the outset of the investigation and was extremely remorseful for what had happened. We gathered letters from his family and therapist to highlight this to the court.

Through taking detailed instructions, we realised that our client had experienced trauma in his childhood. We instructed a psychologist to speak on how his past experiences of being assaulted may have led to the offending behaviour.

We worked with our client to gather as much further material as we could so that a persuasive mitigation package could be presented to the court by a specialist barrister to show that this offending was out of character for him. He had been struggling with his mental health at the time, but we wanted to show the court that, prior to his offending, he had built a successful career and was a person of previous good character. Further, during the investigation, our client became a father, so it became even more important that he avoided a custodial sentence. He aimed to continue to get help with his mental health struggles and form a relationship with his son.

Our thorough preparation ensured that the court was able to fully understand our client's background, the steps he had been taking to address his offending and to ensure it did not happen again. Although custody was a real possibility in this case, our mitigation secured the best result possible for him which was that he received a community order instead. This will allow our client to continue with his therapy and be a part of his son's life. Our client was very grateful for all we had done for him.