Following lengthy proceedings in the Crown Court which began in 2020, BSQ can report another successful indecent images case where the Crown have decided to take no further action against our client in response to our legal representations.

BSQ’s client T was an professional of good character, married and with a young family. T subscribed to a multi party WhatsApp thread with friends from school and university. The authorities received intelligence that illegal material had been posted on the thread and T‘s phone was seized after police obtained a search warrant and seized his digital devices from his property. On examining his phone, evidence was for discovered of illegal material that had been circulated on the thread.

T was asked to attend a police station interview and later charged with downloading illegal images. Having approached two other firms of solicitors and after he was told he may have no option to plead guilty he then approached BSQ. T maintained that he had never participated in the group and had no knowledge of any material circulated on it. BSQ instructed a defence expert who identified numerous errors in the prosecution’s forensic analysis. BSQ‘s expert found that there was no evidence from the download of T’s phone that he had ever interacted in the thread or that he had ever viewed any of the images posted on it.

Our expert report was served on the CPS and to the court. After a delay of several months and numerous court hearings and following complaints to the CPS about the failure to properly consider BSQ‘s defence evidence, the Crown decided to instruct a second expert to review the conclusions of their first expert. The Crown’s second expert confirmed the thesis advanced by BSQ. This ultimately prompted a decision by the Crown to discontinue the proceedings against T.

The facts of the case present an interesting case study of the perils of interacting in a multi party social media WhatsApp thread. T’s prosecution illustrates how someone who is sent illegal material that was not solicited and then views it could find themselves charged with the offence of “making” (i.e. downloading) indecent images.

T was represented throughout by BSQ partner Roger Sahota acting as solicitor and counsel.

You can find more information about our indecent images solicitors defence services, see our practice page.