Sexual Offences and Abuse Defence Solicitors

Our team can help your defence if you are being accused, prosecuted or investigated of a serious crime.

If you have been accused of a sexual offence or abuse of any kind then get in touch with Murrays.

Our team here at Murrays are experienced in all areas of crimes of this nature. No matter how serious the nature of the crime you are being accused of we have the expertise to help you in your defence.

Get in touch now for free advice and help to get your defence against your case.

Defence against abuse crimes

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Serious Sexual Offences

Sexual offences are the perhaps the worst offences an individual can be accused of whether personally of professionally. They have the most devastating effect on not only the individual concerned but for all those involved and their families. This is the case no matter what stage is reached in the proceedings and even in the event of a successful outcome the result of even being investigated for this type of crime can continue to have a far reaching detrimental impact on people’s lives for a long time.

Allegations of sexual misconduct can be made against anyone at anytime and they are notoriously difficult to defend. By their very nature it is often the case that it is one person’s word against another with little or no independent evidence.

This area of criminal law requires the most experienced and deft handling. Those who investigate and prosecute these offences have specialist training at the highest level. For this reason alone anyone facing an allegation of this nature, whatever the level of seriousness, requires lawyers with the same level of experience and who can be pro-active and discreet at all times. At Murrays we have a team of specialists who have made this work their focus and know how to approach this sensitive and complex area of law.

Historical Sexual Offences / Cold Cases

In recent years this has become the fastest developing area of criminal law. It is also the most controversial as a direct result of its very nature. An unsettled area where prosecutions are brought simply on the word of an individual, there is still no time limit in the UK on when an allegation can be brought. At Murrays we have dealt with many of these cases up to the most high profile and most historic. This includes cases dating back to the early 1970’s and before with defendants in their 80’s. The amount of time that has passed nor the age of a defendant has any bearing upon how seriously these cases are dealt with by the police, prosecution or the courts.

The biggest difficulty faced in defending these cases is that by their nature, the allegations made are based on suggestibility or false memory. This means that defending these cases is particularly challenging and requires particular expertise. At Murrays we have access to a network of the country’s leading barristers and experts to assist at every step of the way. At Murrays our robust approach to this type of case, seeking and obtaining disclosure of evidence from third parties such as education authorities and social services departments has led to excellent results being achieved even in apparently the most hopeless of cases.

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The rise of Cold Cases in our courts has been dramatic. This started with the launch of the DNA database in 1998 but has dramatically increased with the media frenzy that has followed from far reaching Inquiries such as the Saville Inquiry (Operation Yew tree), The Historical Sexual Abuse Inquiry in Northern Ireland and recent allegations involving a prestigious London Music School – We have been involved in representing defendants involved in all of the above.

Cold cases are not limited to sexual allegations but also paedophilia, rape and murder. This list is not exhaustive. No matter what the nature of the investigation early intervention with an experienced lawyer is essential.

Cyber Crime Offences

Whilst not solely limited to sexual offences, technology continues to develop at a rapid pace. The Law therefore has to play catch up and it is. The changes in this area of law over recent times has been dramatic and there is now a vast amount of rules and regulations to be navigated in the event of an allegation involving cyber crime. This simply reflects the innovative ways in which computers and the internet are now used to commit crime. This law will continue to change and develop as quickly as the technology does and as such it requires fast paced lawyers to keep pace.

If a computer is used in a criminal act, that would be deemed cyber crime. In addition to sexual offences, harassment, fraud and hacking are perhaps the most common offences falling into this category.

The National Crime Agency heads up investigations in this area under the national Cyber Crime Unit. It is this agency who polices and prosecutes crimes of this nature that occur in the UK but these offences are not limited by borders and often involve multi-national agencies.

You need to do very little to fall foul of an offence – simply accessing someone else’s computer without their permission or knowledge would mean you are guilty of an offence. This would be the case even if this was done accidentally and without any criminal intent.

Once there is the addition of criminal intent then you move into the realms of hacking and the penalties become potentially very serious indeed. Penalties up to and including 5 years in prison and significant or even an unlimited fine means you cannot underestimate the need for a lawyer even in a case where you might genuinely believe you have done nothing wrong. If you are being investigated there is always a risk and you should always have a lawyer with experience in this field to navigate through any investigation of this nature.

A very specific area of criminal activity in this field is that of accessing pornography. This is therefore dealt with under its very own legislation. This includes the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Protection of Children Act 1978.

The simple act of possessing pornography let alone anything more serious such as making or sharing it is taken very seriously indeed by the relevant authorities. They will investigate and prosecute every crime of this nature. It is imperative that you have proper legal advice and representation even at the very earliest stages of an allegation of this nature.

If you are being investigated for any of these offences it is imperative that you have good legal advice. Our team of experienced lawyers can help you whether your case is still being investigated by the police or indeed whether it has gone past that stage and you are already being prosecuted through the courts.

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