Is this legal?

[largactyl1]

Hi there, my friend is still "technically" (according to the policewoman who has been assigned his case) on bail as the police have yet to examine his computer. He knows he has not been up to no good on the computer apart from the usual smut.

However, there will be evidence of his accuser (his now ex girlfriend) doing sexual stuff on the web cam for audiences watching on their computers. (My friend only discovered that she was up to this a few months ago-before her accusations). Please excuse my ignorance but is this sort of thing legal? Could he get in trouble for it?

Also, his computer is second hand so we don't know what was on it when he bought it, or indeed what his accuser could have been up to. It's all a bit sordid really but this woman has SERIOUS issues this is her 7th/8th accusation of rape against different people; she has lied about all sorts of horrendous things - with her at centre place in the stories, glorifying in her victimhood. I've known her for many years and used to be taken in, then I ignored the lies when I realised what she was up to, then they got too much and I cut her out of my life. Could I go to the police and tell them what she is like?

So much that we don't understand. Everything seemed to be improving but now things don't feel any better at all for my friend. He is in an awful state. He has also started getting numerous silent phone calls from a blocked number - I told him to list these. Is this right? Could they be of use even though from a blocked caller. Sorry, so many questions.....

[Casehardened]

Hi,

I have only heard of prosecutions being brought where there is sexual stuff involving minors on computers; there is so much 'normal' material around that it would be quite impractical to prosecute over this even if it actually was illegal.

In relation to any questionable material being on a shared computer, I am told that it is possible to tell (assuming each user is passworded) who has accessed what, and when.

Whenever I have purchased a secondhand hard drive the dealer has made a point of reformatting it to wipe out everything before handing it over so I suspect if your friend's computer came from a dealer this would have been done. If he bought it privately this may not have happened but he will at least have an audit trail.

With regard to the telephone calls, if they are really upsetting your friend his telephone provider will have a procedure to deal with this, or he could simply purchase a caller display unit and then just note the time the call was made but not pick up the phone.

If the calls are being made from a landline it would be easy for his telephone provider to trace what number they originated from (but they would only do this if requested by the police)

Best wishes, & well done for your continuing support

[Rights Fighter]

It would be pretty clear that this was consensual (or not) and he cannot beheld responsible for her antics.

Whether this evidence can be used as "bad character" against her should this come to trial is another matter. However...........if any of the previous false allegations were reported to the police then this CA be used as "bad character" and as an abuse of process argument pre-trial and during the course of.

[LS]

As far as I understand it, you can only be held accountable for data on your computer which was put on or accessed after the point you purchased it.
Reformatting a pc does not, apparently, get rid of everything on it. However, even if said pc was chock full of dubious data, as long as you have a receipt showing when you bought it, then anything on it prior to that data cannot be used against you.

As RF rightly says, you cannot be held responsible for madam's actions either.

[Saffron]

With regard to the silent phone calls - get your friend to keep a log and inform his sol. I am not sure whether an anonymous call can be traced, but it's worth asking his phone company. Alternatively he can get his phone company to put a block on any anonymous calls. They won't be able to block just this one caller, it would be a blanket ban on anyone calling from a withheld number.

LS is right that reformatting a hard drive does not get rid of everything that was previously on there. As far as I understand it, anything that has been viewed/downloaded leaves a footprint which is retrievable by an expert. However, as long as he has a dated proof of purchase he should be OK. (BTW, I am very far from being a computer expert, so don't just take my word for it!)

[friday]

unless it is considered "extreme", involves a minor or the person didn't consent and you are aware they didn't consent (i.e. if you access a website and it is later found that a person involved was actually being forced into it then it should be fine, as long as you delete it once you know) then your friend should be fine.

for reasons i won't go into i know that the threshold for being charged for making or possessing extreme sexual images is extremely high and police don't even bother trying to charge people for making images/videos of sexual acts without the consent of a person in the videos unless there is also a claim that the acts were not consensual. unless the person who claimed to be raped also claimed she was forced to make these videos (which although seems highly unlikely is not impossible) your friend should be fine. it seems the police like to sit and watch the "material" but not act upon it.

from another (although related) experience the police don't seem to bother about malicious communications, even if they are going to cost someone there job...

that said my experiences are only as a complainant or friend of a complainant and not in relation to an accusation of sexual assault. i suspect the police may have a different attitude if they believe they can add offences or strengthen the case.

also possession of extreme pornagraphic material requires for it to be saved. if it was just viewed then i believe it is ok. most porn that most people consider "extreme" is not actually legally extreme.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.g...hic-images.pdf

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2008/en/08en04-g.htm

[LS]

also possession of extreme pornagraphic material requires for it to be saved. if it was just viewed then i believe it is ok.

True, to possess something you have to have Right Clicked and Save As. However, as my barrister informed me, as far as the judiciary are concerned, "downloading" means Once it has appeared on the screen. It doesn't necessarily have to be saved to the computer. However, just "viewing" does not offer the immunity that you think.
For it to appear on the screen is enough. That is what happened to a certain rock guitarist in the last 2 years - he viewed indecent material, but paid to do so with his credit card. This snared him in Operation Ore, so he ended up getting a caution for viewing indecent images of children. Although he hadn't downloaded anything, the punishment was just as damning as if he had.

As Friday says, what the judiciary consider to be extreme is a lot less than what the public think is extreme.
The only way to avoid crossing the line is to completely avoid all adult sites, as many contain child porn (child being someone under 18) mixed in. Once it's appeared on your screen you're stuck with it.

[friday]

^no, law on extreme images is stuff that causes injuries which are more than transient and to genitals or breasts, life threatening, involve animals....far more extreme than what i suspect most people consider extreme. police won't charge if injuries are things like bruises or lacerations to other parts of the body unless they are deemed life-threatening or could be perceived to be life threatening (things like suffocation or hanging). even then they may not if all parties consented (having worked in a fetish club these issues are extremely important to couples who include bdsm in their relationship).

[largactyl1]

Thankyou

Thankyou people, you are being very helpful.

All of the stuff on the computer from the webcam is just of her doing stuff to herself with a variety of sex toys, things like that. My friend didn't even know she was doing it until a few months ago. (They have been in an off and on again relationship for over 5 years).

He doesn't even know when the alleged "rape" took place. Should the police have told him this in his interview?

I am so worried about my friend (I'll call him A. - not his real initial). He hasn't been past the park to walk his dog for nearly 2 months now. The park is directly outside of his house. He is so anxious that if he goes anywhere, that she might see him and accuse him of something else. He is getting some support from a Psychiactric nurse as he is suffering so very much. He is on sleepers and anti-depressants.

It's so awful to see him in such an awful place. He's usually quick, funny and insightful. Now he just wishes he could go to sleep and not wake up. Sometimes I look on her Facebook update and it's always happy-go-lucky kind of stuff - either that or mawkish **** about being "A survivor". A. does not know I do this, I can't believe she has done this - but what with all of her previous accusations against people, crying rape seems to roll off her tongue as casually as if she's offering someone a biscuit.

A. has to answer bail on monday. Because he is mentally ill at the moment, he has a "Responsible Adult" who really knows what she is doing which is a big help. He's just in limbo, which as I know people here will identify with, which seems very cruel.
I really hope justice is done and she goes to prison for making this accusation. With her past she should have a warning tattooed on her forehead.

I was badly sexually assaulted 25 years ago when I was a teen, it makes me so angry that she could claim something like this happened to her -just in order to get back at a partner who had just dumped her.