Scott Tuppen’s client was charged with attempted sexual communication with a child. After a 3-day trial at the Crown Court at Derby, the jury found Scott’s client not guilty.

Whilst a conviction for this offence is always serious, it is often the secondary consequences that are felt most by defendants. Convicted defendants must comply with notification requirements (commonly referred to as the Sex Offenders Register) and are often made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), the terms of which can impact every aspect of a defendant’s life. Foreign travel, employment and living arrangements can all be affected by imposition of a SHPO. Worse still, the social stigma of forever being labelled a sex-offender can be devastating. Whilst no ordinary member of the public would disagree that the police should robustly investigate allegations of these types of offences, it is possible for innocent parties to face accusations that they have committed an offence of this type. Where a person is wrongly suspected of an offence of this nature, it is imperative that they seek advice early on.   

In this case, an undercover police officer posed as an adult on a legal dating website to engage the defendant in sexual chat. The conversation then moved onto an app which is known for its ‘disappearing message’ functionality. It was on this app that the decoy then stated once that they were under 16. Scott’s client maintained his innocence from the outset, making clear that he was engaged in up to 100 conversations a day, all with adults, on legal dating apps. Scott’s client said that when the conversation moved onto the messaging app he simply did not see the single message in which the decoy stated their age, at the time that it was sent. Scott’s client later saw the reference to the decoy’s purported age when he used the message retrieval function to review his earlier conversations. At this point, Scott’s client ceased contact. Demonstrating that communication had ceased at this point was a key aspect of the defence case. Scott was able to show that a thorough forensic examination of all his client’s devices and electronic storage had revealed no evidence of inappropriate activity or interests. A demonstration of the ‘disappearing message’ feature was also shown in court. In the face of such overwhelming evidence casting doubt on the prosecution case, the jury concluded that they could not be sure that the defendant had seen the single message relating to age.

Scott was instructed by Richard Silver Solicitors. Alison Mafham of instructing solicitors said "this was a matter of crucial importance to the client. Scott put him at ease from the outset. Thanks to Scott's good judgement, careful preparation and expert presentation to the jury the client was aquitted."