Client Receives Suspended Sentence for Breaching a SHPO

Case study summary

Our client had received a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in relation to several previous offences.

He later used 'incognito' browsers, contrary to this order, and caused floods of emails to be sent to his Probation Officer, knowing that this would impair their computer.

Case study

Our client was initially interviewed by police in relation to allegations of having carried out a planned cyber attack against the probation office that he answered to. It was also found that he had been using software to clean his devices and incognito browsers that would hide his search history. This amounted to the fourth breach of this order and was the fourth occasion where the client had used a cleaning software.

He entered guilty pleas at the court and explained to us that he accepted what he was accused of and that he knew that he should not have been using the software that he had installed. He explained that this was an oversight and that he had not been using it to cover up any offending. Our client also explained to us that he had spent the three years since his first interview keeping to himself and working hard at his job.

We prepared his case and instructed an expert to speak with him in order to determine if he might have autism, as he suspected.

We instructed a barrister to present this case to Minshull Street Crown Court and argue in favour of suspending any custodial sentence due to our client's mental health and the three-year delay in his case finally reaching a sentencing court.

At this sentencing, the prosecution argued in favour of imposing an immediate custodial sentence due to the seriousness of the breach and his intentional interference with the probation service's emails.

The judge commented specifically on the malicious nature of the cyber attacks on the probation service and the fact that this was his fourth breach for having downloaded a cleaning software.

After a lengthy hearing the judge was persuaded by our arguments. She imposed a 12 month prison sentence but suspended this for 18 months.

Our client was extremely relieved by this sentence as he was prepared to be sent to prison immediately.