committed online - because most people had no access to the thenemerging internet. In 2024, most crimes are now committed online! Just as there has been a massive expansion of online (lawful) pornography, there has been an equally massive expansion in online illegal pornography. The internet is, in effect, responsible for the explosion of offences relating to indecent images of children. Facing an allegation of a sexual offence has a devastating impact on you, your wider family, your reputation and potentially your livelihood. What happens when someone is accused of a sexual offence and is there a strategy for handling false allegations for sexual assault? An allegation of committing a sexual offence is life-changing. Clients are often suspended from work, rumours circulate, comments may appear on social media (which can remain forever) and it can split families. If you have children, Social Services may become involved and you may be prevented from living at home or seeing your children. And this is even before you are charged or convicted. We have a well-tried and tested strategy for dealing with this problem. As soon as we are contacted by a new client we arrange a detailed conference to obtain all the background information. We go on record with the police and CPS the same day to request an update and disclosure of any evidence. We have a team of three lawyers who work on each case, plus our support staff. We start working on defence arguments from day one. Of course, we are also able to represent our client at any police interview. If a client has not yet been charged with an offence (but is under investigation), our main aim is to stop a prosecution. We try to do this by liaising with the CPS and showing that the evidence, as presented by the police, does not reach the prosecution threshold. There are particular legal arguments that need to be made to the CPS to try and stop a prosecution - and this work should be started as soon as possible. WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM 19 The CPS may then decide to take no further action or issue charges and refer the case to court. If a client is charged with offences, we can then, of course, defend the case in court. It will take between 12 - 24 months for a case to reach a trial. During this time there are various steps we may take to try and get the case thrown out. Of course, we also have expert barristers to represent clients at any trial. Nigel Lythgoe, Donald Trump, Vin Diesel, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Prince Andrew, Jamie Foxx, rock star Axl Rose, and Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr have all recently been accused of sexual assault with lawsuits filed. Making malicious false allegations of sexual abuse, violence, and rape against men is on the increase. Why is this happening and how is it possible to protect your legal rights in a false accusation legal claim? I have certainly noticed over recent If a client has not yet been charged with an offence (but is under investigation), our main aim is to stop a prosecution.
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