accused of a dissgusting crime. pls help

[stumped]

i have been recently accused and arested for "sexual assault of a child under 13"
my daughters second cousin came to stay for the night recently and they were both jumping all over me trying to tickle me being who i am tickled them back
the next day we were chilling out watching some tv and my daughter started scratching my back then this second cousin joined in after which she put her face on my back and remarked how warm my back was i then scratched both there backs too
now my daughter was there the whole time apart from when she got up to go to the toilet and i got up to see what my wife was up to.
now this sounds ridiculous but my wife has mentioned to me before that this girl who's the cousin is allways fixated on me and hangs off every word i say

so there i was one afternoon and the next thing i know im being arrested, so i requested a duty solisitor to which i was apointed as i didnt know why i was arrested i was advised to give a pre statement of a which i i replied no coment to every questione until i knew what the alegations were which was i was supposed to have kissed this girl on the head held her hand and her bre*st to which im am no way guilty.
so im curently been bailed with no stipulations untill mid febuary then have to apear at the police station to find out if im being charged or not

i have a few questions

1. after reading through most of the posts here it seems the cps usaully passes this on to the crown courts regardless of evidence?

2. ive also heard that solisitors like to give you unrealistic assured and peace of mind probable outcomes... my solisitor has told me its a minor sexual offence and if i pleed guilty i will get a community based sentance and if wish to not allow this accusation and pleed not guilty and then found guilty i could still get a community based sentance...IS THIS TRUE? what would be the probable sentance if things go really bad for me and found guilty?

3. im really looking at the worst senarios here but if prison is the out come what category prison would i be looking at

4. although we were tickling each other the night before the alledged incident my dna will be on her clothes and on her back, will this be taken into account if it goes to court?

thanks for taking the time to read my messed up life story i just hope this will sort itself out soon
so me and my family can get back to some sort of normality
the girl that has made these accusations i think is being prompted by her mother as my wife had a big fall out with her just days before all this happened i just cant tell if its the mother being devious and damn right nasty or the girl has an infatuation on me

its just the lowest situation ive ever been in i stopped eating for days but knew i had to start eating and it took me over a week to start eating properly again, unfortunatly i still dont sleep to well at night even the sleeping tablets i got from my doctor dont help much.

[mol12]

you have to fight . find a solisiter, duty ones turn out to be in the hands of the police

[Saffron]

Hello

In response to your questions, I am not a professional, and nowhere near the most experienced person who posts here, but here goes:

The CPS are supposed to weigh up the chances of a conviction and then decide from there whether to press charges. This is not always the case however. due to increased socio-political pressure, more are adopting the "give it a whirl" attitude, particularly in cases where there is no forensic evidence. Increasingly, in cases such as this which are deemed to be "in the public interest" jurors are asked to simply decide who they believe.

do not take what your solicitor tells you as gospel. you are accused of a sexual crime against a child, a VERY serious crime, and there is every chance you could go to prison. should you elect to plead guilty or are convicted, you should never assume that you will get a community-based sentence.

With regard to category of prison, it depends on which prisons are nearest the court where you get sentenced. My husband went to a category A (top security) prison, because that is the jail that was attached to the court he was sentenced at. however, he was quickly moved to a lower category within the first month. The prison service is supposed to send you to a jail within 50 miles of your home and family, but this rule is widely ignored. My husband's prison was a 240 mile round trip from our home.
As a general rule, prisoners who have been convicted of sex crimes (especially a sex crime involving a child) are invited to join the Vulnerable Prisoners wing. The VP wing is not just for "nonces" as the tabloids would have us believe! other people who are VPs include those who were policemen, magistrates, lawyers,l those who have got into debt on the "main" wing, those who are suicidal or depressed, and those who feel they wouldn't be able to cope on the "main" wing.

As for the DNA she will have on her clothes and vice versa....difficult to call. If she is claiming that the physical contact between you was entirely non-consensual, or if you have been denying there was any contact between you, then it may be relevant. however, if you have admitted physical contact, it will be less relevant.

Finally, don't post details of your case on any open forum, even this one.

try to stay healthy, you will need your strength. Diana has posted some relaxation exercises elsewhere on this site which may help you sleep. I always found strenuous physical exercise was the best sleeping aid possible.

I know this sounds horrendous, but we all need to be careful of situations like this. kids can be just as devious and duplicitous as grown ups, only more so, because they tend to be believed unconditionally.

good luck.

[Ashley]

Very professional reply from Saffron, knowledge from bitter personal experience and absolutely correct.

Just a couple of things to add.

If this matter went to court and you entered a guilty plea, or are found guilty, the sentence (custodial or otherwise) pales as compared to the fact that you would be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for LIFE.

Even if you accepted a caution, then that in itself is an admission of guilt ant you are placed on the Register.

Make no mistake, you will be a 'prisoner' for the rest of your life.

DNA is contained in our bodily fluids, ie saliva, blood, semen etc. If there is only non-intimate touching involved then DNA is unlikely to have been transferred. Swabs for DNA purposes are taken from everyone arrested for an arrestable offence, regardless of whether it is sexual. Thus, if you were arrested for say Criminal Damage, the powers to take a DNA sample from you exist and are held on a National Database. It may be your DNA has been taken for evidential purposes in support of what your accuser has alleged. It will however have been taken regardless of the liklihood of whether it supports or rebuts the allegation.

[stumped]

thank you for your replies, im having a really bad time of all this but me and my wife have discovered that there is motive for the accusers mother to have made these acusations which may have a bearing on the case if it goes as far as trial.
i have kept a diary of events since i was arested and bailed of the accusers intimidating my family also which the police have been informed about and they have so im told had words with these evil people that are distant family
i have never ever been accused of anything like this and it really drags me down and feel like going to pay them a visit but it would go against me and end up being arrested.

i would like to hear from people who have been wrongly convicted or in simular circumstances that can tell me what the probable outcome will be if im charged? if im covicted what sentance would be likely?
i have been in trouble before for handling stollen goods 8 years ago.. and possesion of a class A drug 10 years ago... if that is at all relevant

btw i do have a reputable solicitor that deals in these sort of cases but has told me the most i will get if im convicted is a community based sentance but i think its just his bed side manor trying to make me feel good
thats why i would rather ask people here that have been through the mill and have some sort of experience.

thanks in advance [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

[diana_holbourn]

Don&#39;t forget that people here or their relatives might have been accused of much more serious indecent assaults than you&#39;ve been accused of, so even if they or their relatives went to prison, it won&#39;t necessarily mean you would.

[Saffron]

Diana is right, and I must also add that sentencing varies enormously, depending on the case and the judge. for example:

case 1
a man was convicted of indecent assault against an adult woman. She claimed he had touched her intimately while she was asleep. He pleaded not guilty, but was convicted, and sentenced to 12 months in prison, to serve no more than 6 months. He was not ordered to sign the Sex Offender&#39;s Register. It was his first offence.

case 2
a male teacher pleaded guilty to 4 charges of indecent assault against pupils under the age of 13. He was given a 4 year community-based sentence. He was ordered to sign the sex offender&#39;s register for life. a year later, he pleaded guilty to possessing over 1000 indecent images of children. He was given a 2 year community rehabilitation order.

case 3
a man attacked an adult woman as she walked home one evening. He forced her to perform a sex act, and hit her face several times. He pleaded guilty to indecent assault. he had a history of robbery and TDA. he was given a 2 year suspended sentence. He was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

These are all genuine cases and the sentences are real sentences. sentences vary enormously, and it all depends on the judge, the case itself, and the plea entered by the defendant. One thing I would say though, is that most people who are either convicted of or plead guilty to a sex crime against a child find themselves in prison.

Let us know how you get on.