My dad's been accused :(

[worriedfather]

That is something that happened nearly 40 years ago and i would have thought would not be disclosable. Gary Dobson was serving 5 years for drug dealing and that was not disclosed to the Jury, also as he was a minor at the time, that should have been wiped from the record i think. Tell him not to plead guilty, CPS will always prosecute even when they know that they wont win, I was told by the CPS that they knew a piece of evidence completely undermined the case against my son but they still went ahead to trial Good Luck

[Nooney]

I myself and family thought it wouldn't be used but they beckoned his sister over from oz to blacken my dads names but she doesn't know my dad, his character the good he does, the kind man he is she's hasn't seen him for years!!!.please bear in mind my dad if he does not plead guilty and gets found guilty of miss justice he will be leaving his 10year old son who's mother doesn't bother with him so he has to think what Is best for his son my half brother is it best he is with out his dad for 2years or 4 1/2 if he does get sent down I will be the legal guardian for my half brother the poor lads been through alot. I will be c ing him tonight and will have more info later.. Keep you posted

Thanks all!!

[RFLH]

bear in mind that if he pleads guilty to something he hasn't done and serves over 3 years, he will be on the SOR for life with all that entails, the SS will be involved up to his eyeballs and may recommend that he leaves the family home and have supervised acccess. This is supposition, it may not happen to him - but it has happened to others.

[gem]

i think you need to know if he pleads guilty to the lesser charge. it will not be as simple as you think, he will be placed upon the sex offenders register for at least 5 years and if he serves over 30 months he will be on the register for life . not a good thing if he has a 10 year old son as he won.t be able to look after him or live with him on his release. so tell your dad this i bet the cps never told him this either.

[fighter]

yes, there was also a case with our neighbor's relative who pleaded guilty for something he has not done for lesser years, but in the end he was even given the full number of years and he couldn't appeal anymore. Keep coming back to the forum.

[Casehardened]

Hi again Nooney,

What you and your Dad must also bear in mind is that a defendant only gets the full credit (1/3 off the sentence) for a guilty plea if it's made right at the beginning i.e. during the police interview.

Once the trial has been scheduled and the legal team lined up then the credit for a guilty plea is greatly reduced as costs have already been incurred; he may find that a guilty plea at this stage will only make a year or so difference to the sentence to that would be given after the trial and a guilty verdict.

As others have said, a guilty plea against a guilty verdict, could make a huge difference in his future.

Edit: crossed with fighter's post but she has illustrated my argument very well

[gem]

sorry RFLH our posts seem to have crossed i wasn.t copying honest

[RFLH]

panic not gem - everyone is entitled to a post!!

[fighter]

yeah and similar posts, further emphasize the points we want to relay :-)

[Nooney]

Hi all

I have spoken to my dad and he has been told because he has a sister crying on tape things aint stacked in his favour if my sister is to turn on the water works which she is good at and done it all her life a jury will think more favourable there way hes telling me he does not think he could be away from the family for 12years and is considering the bargaining plea basically the system has you by the short and curlys any one who was supposed to attand court tomoz has been cancelled to give my dad time to think is not looking good

sorry to dampen every ones hopes by reading mine

[worriedandconcerned]

Hi Nooney

Sorry but i am in the same situation as your dad as my daughter has accused me.
Now i am not in court yet but i have to tell you i would not admit to anything whatsoever if i had not done it.
I have a boy the same age so i do understand but how would his son feel when he hears his dad has admitted guilt ?
Seriously i would rather face a firing squad than admit to something like this that i had not done but thats just me i guess.
I wish him luck whatever he decides.

[gem]

nooney
just thought id ask. how did the police find out about your sister if it was not reported to the police, and im not sure on the law here but surely they can.t use this against him if he was a minor himself and 40 years ago. if he was a habitual offender he wouldn.t have waited 40 odd years to re offend i really think he needs some more advice on this before he commits himself . he will also not do 12 years imprisonment if is convicted. or that was the case when my son was sentenced in june i know the goverment were going to change this soon. my son was offered a plea bargain of 30 months but that was enough to put him on the offenders register anyway for life 'he refused he like many others told them to stuff it.he got found guilty and 7 years. he will serve 3 he has had he release date 2014 .but he now has a good chance of appeal because of his botch up of a defence team he had.he would not be getting that chance if he pleaded guilty.he has children also

[fighter]

yes 12 years is a long time nooney. Did the barrister/solicitor explained the number of years to be spent on prison? I feel like it is too long hence it pushes your father to plead guilty for a crime he didn't do. I recall my partner was accused for rape for doing it to a girl aged 6 to 14 years old; he would be imprisoned for less than 10 years if he is found guilty; maybe 4 or 5, then he would be released to the society. I cant remember well the details as I was so scared listening to it. I shivered inside as it was being explained..but definitely not as long as 12 years.

I hope somebody could offer you better advise than your defense team. I dont think it is fair that the girl can get away with just shedding off tears!! The defense team should anticipate these emotional drama and know how to deal with it.

[lawlessone2009]

This late in the process any 'discount' for a plea would amount to months off, not years. It also shuts down appeals processes.

I would stand trial!

Tell your dad the same and tell him quickly!

It wouldn't be unheard off for the prosecution to pull a bluff.

Your sister turning on the water works makes little difference if there is no evidence put in front of them.

Your dads sister from 40 years ago? WTF? Forget about it unless she is being called as a witness and even then evidence from 40 years ago isn't going to hold too much credibility.

Take the chances on a trial as they are better than shutting the door and throwing away the keys and any chances that in the future there could be a successful appeal even if the worst does happen!

Take it to trial!

[fighter]

Good point lawlessone!! I was going to ask would the prosecution team know about what happened 40 years ago? or is it only the defense team who knows about it?