Indecent Exposure Allegations Dropped after Failing to Pass Evidential Threshold

Richard Nelson LLP successfully secured a result of No Further Action for a naturist accused of indecent exposure. The client was accused of exposing himself to members of the public over a period of 1 year. In our interview the client highlighted that he was a practicing naturist, and following an internal evidential review the police decided the alleged offences did not pass the evidential threshold and as such the case was concluded with no further action being taken against the client.

The client instructed us for initial advice after hearing rumours of a potential police investigation into his conduct. Having taken these initial instructions, Richard Etherington contacted the police following a message left on the client’s phone telling him that the allegations had been formalised and the police needed to interview him.

A voluntary interview was then scheduled in order for the allegations to be put to client. Richard received pre-interview disclosure, then advised the client on his options for interview, relevant law and police powers. Ultimately, Richard advised the client to provide a responsive interview and answer questions to provide his version of events and advance denials to the allegations.

Following the police interview, the client was released under investigation while the police carried out further enquiries. Ben Shellard kept in contact with the police to make sure that the client was updated throughout.

The officer in the case submitted it to their Serjeant for an evidential review. Given the client’s account in his interview, the case was deemed not to pass the evidential threshold for prosecution. As such, the case was closed and no further action was taken against the client.

After his successful outcome, the client said, “Richard Etherington provided invaluable advice and support during several stressful weeks in a matter which involved mistaken identity and could have involved a criminal charge, but which was resolved sensibly and satisfactorily before it came to that. Ben Shellard was also always there for me and was friendly, calm and helpful. It made a big difference to have them at my back.”

If you are facing police allegations, learn more about the services our criminal defence solicitors can provide and contact us today.