Meeting a Child Following Grooming

Facing an accusation of committing an offence as serious as meeting a child following grooming can be incredibly difficult to contend with. If you find yourself in such a situation, you will no doubt be worried about the potential consequences of being charged. The need for specialist legal support from expert criminal defence solicitors is therefore critical.

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If you believe your case is likely to have serious consequences for you now, or in the future and you have the means to pay for this service

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At JD Spicer Zeb, our team have built up years of experience in defending those accused of various grooming offences, including arranging to meet a child following grooming. With a strong track record of success to show for our expertise, you can be confident that your case will be in the safest pair of hands – from the point of arrest and through the investigation stages.

Our team can offer tailored legal support that is sensitive to the circumstances surrounding your case. From start to finish, we can advise you on the steps that need to be taken to build an effective defence against allegations of meeting a child following grooming.

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We respond quickly even during out of hours. We do not get our work by paying for online adverts but based on the fact that few criminal law firms can match our 45 years of experience. Most of our cases are still from word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied clients. We are called daily by dissatisfied clients from firms with less experience than us. We respond very quickly to new enquiries. We know what clients seek and so we update clients rapidly.

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Yes, read about the recent cases we've helped our clients with here.

We always keep you updated and give straightforward advice. We will get cases dropped early where the case is weak or should not be prosecuted. We will be upfront with you about where you can benefit from a good result with an early guilty plea, such as a discount on your sentence. As we work on cases across all levels with clients from all walks of life, we are excellent at giving clear, spot-on advice. As an established firm, we can allocate a whole team to your case often at short notice to secure evidence to minimise the damage to you.

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OUR PROFESSIONAL BODY THE LAW SOCIETY AWARDED US IN OCTOBER 2020 WITH THE EXCELLENCE IN CLIENT SERVICE AWARD AND STATED -

"JD Spicer Zeb demonstrated a clear commitment to client service through their work with vulnerable and diverse individuals in what can be severely traumatic circumstances".

Do you offer free consultations?

Where it is possible, we aim to provide an initial consultation to you. If we can speak to you, we can if required inform you about –

Whether we can take the case on and our relevant experience.
Public and private funding benefits.
Assistance in applying for legal aid where we are likely to accept instructions.
An outline of options in police interview only. We will not advise you on which option to adopt.
Providing our free written guide explaining the police station process.
The gravity of routine and day-to-day offences you face.
Consequences of not attending the court or police station.
Consequences of interfering with any witnesses.
Retaining any evidence in support of your case.
If possible an outline of the elements of the offence that the police or CPS must prove.
This consultation will normally be by telephone or email and will only be for as long as we deem necessary to establish if we can act for you. If we cannot usefully give you any advice in this manner then we will not continue with the consultation. We will not discuss the case in depth for you to be able to decide on your plea or any significant aspect of the case, as this cannot be undertaken informally.
Referring you, if possible, to other firms for matters out of our specialism or if we cannot help.

Consultations do not apply to the following cases –

If we do not intend to take the case on.
Road Traffic cases, drink driving, drug driving, driving bans, speeding, no insurance, mobile phone use, points etc.
In all cases where we do not have the capacity to take your case or the availability of suitably qualified staff to provide an initial free consultation. This is applicable in all cases but especially where a more senior lawyer is required because of your personal needs or the complexity of the case.
Harassment/stalking/ coercive behaviour/malicious communications or road traffic cases and most sensitive cases. These cases are often too complicated to assess in short consultations.
The locations concerned may be too distant to represent you adequately or it may not be cost-effective for you or us.
The case is too complicated to assess or raises various charges or facts, complexity, or history to be considered informally or in a short consultation.
In most Legal aid transfers where legal aid is granted to another firm except in very grave cases, we may assess the case and merits for a transfer.
If your relationship has broken down with your existing solicitor or several solicitors.
If you have been released under investigation and have already had a police station attendance.
If you hold legal aid with another firm and seek a second opinion.
If you are calling on behalf of the client as a friend or family member unless you have full authority and full facts.
To businesses.
Advising whether you were given good advice by your other solicitor.
Whether to decide to plead guilty or not guilty.
Whether you have an arguable defence in law or factually complicated defences.
Any advice you have had after your first court appearance.
Any advice on appeal on conviction or sentence.
If we feel we are unable to communicate with you.
If we are likely to be conflicted or breach our professional rules.

Speak to our grooming offence solicitors now

For a free initial consultation subject to exceptions on your legal position and the available options with regards to allegations of meeting a child following grooming, please call 0207 624 7771.

For urgent advice at any time of day or night, please call our Emergency Number 07836 577 556.

You can also email: solicitors@jdspicer.co.uk or fill out our quick online enquiry form and we will get back to you quickly.

Why choose JD Spicer Zeb’s grooming offence solicitors?

It is imperative that you seek immediate legal counsel if you are accused of arranging to meet a child following grooming. No matter what your circumstances may be, or what the exact accusations you are facing are, our specialist team will be on hand to support you.

Grooming offences can often prove to be very complex, with many moving parts. Given the fact that prosecutors will typically need to rely on a range of evidence to bring forward a charge, having the right solicitor on your side can make all the difference.

When instructed, our solicitors will take action to defend your position. We will help to clarify your situation, exactly what the grooming offence allegations amount to, and what the potential outcome of your case will be.

As a firm, we have established ourselves as one of the country’s leading criminal law firms and have specialist expertise in defending individuals accused of a wide range of sexual offences. Previously, we have handled various high-profile cases, meaning we have the necessary experience to provide you with tailored advice that supports your case.

Our experience ensures we are able to use various types of evidence to support you with your case. This includes digital forensics. As specialists in this area, we work closely with leading digital forensics experts, including Cyfor, who provide efficient advice on the digital forensics aspect of the police investigation.

We also have close links with many of the country’s leading criminal defence barristers, who specialise in handling sexual offences, including meeting a child following grooming. This means that we are well positioned to support you and provide the strongest representation for any trials that take place as a part of your case.

We receive many referrals and recommendations from clients who have been satisfied with our legal services. This is a testament to our strong focus on client care.

Common questions arranging to meet a child following grooming

What is child grooming?

Child grooming, or sexual grooming, is the general term used to describe the act of building a relationship, gaining the trust, or emotionally manipulating a child to prepare them for a sexual act.

Communication that is carried out with the intention of sexual abuse will be considered sexual grooming.

What does the offence of meeting a child following grooming involve?

Meeting a child following grooming is a fairly self-explanatory offence. It is listed under Section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

The offence is deemed to have been committed when an alleged offender meets with a child, travels with the intention of meeting a child, arranges to meet the child, or the child travels to meet the alleged offender.

What is the maximum sentence after meeting a child following grooming?

Meeting a child following grooming attract a maximum custodial sentence of 10 years. Sentencing Council indicates that the sentencing range of 1-7 years’ custody.

What evidence is needed to prove grooming?

For the prosecution to prove a grooming offence, they will need to refer back to various pieces of evidence. Typically, the primary evidence that the prosecution will rely on will include the exchange of messages on digital devices.

In the case of meeting a child following grooming, the prosecution may rely on geolocation data to prove that you were travelling to a certain location at a certain time.

What defences are available to grooming?

There are often likely to be a range of defences available to anyone facing an accusation of grooming. While these will often depend on the individual circumstances of the case, common defence strategies may include:

Factual dispute

One common defence strategy will be to demonstrate that the allegations of grooming are factually incorrect, or do not sufficiently fulfil the guidelines set out by the CPS, and are therefore not applicable.

Chat history

The written word is often open to interpretation. While the prosecution will usually look to rely on texts, emails and chatroom history as a part of their investigation, these messages can also be used as a valid defence strategy. Your version of the messages and the intent behind them may be different to how their prosecution have interpreted them.

The police may also seek to use any messages which are entirely innocent, but have small suggestions of criminality – even if they do not cross the line into criminality.

Gifts

Any gifts which are given to young people could be deemed to be a sign of grooming. Defences may rely on demonstrating that any gifts were not made with the intent of building any type of inappropriate relationship with a young person.

Fantasy and real intent

The lines between fantasy and real life can quickly become blurred. It is always important to consider whether any elements of the conversations that have taken place were simply a fantasy, as opposed to having elements with a genuine intention to meet.

Alternative offence

Evidence could point towards an alternative offence (which carries a less significant penalty) being more closely aligned with the allegations that have been put forward by the prosecution.

For instance, engaging in sexual communications with a child carries a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment, which also means any sentence handed down by the court could be suspended.

Entrapment

Entrapment involves an undercover police officer ‘encouraging’ the behaviour which is being prosecuted, in this case grooming. Entrapment is not usually a legal defence and the court will typically only consider stopping proceedings if the police have acted far outside their realm of jurisdiction.

Contact our grooming offence solicitors today

For urgent specialist advice, immediate representation, or to speak to us confidentially about allegations of arranging to meet a child following grooming, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our specialist grooming offence solicitors.

You can contact a member of our dedicated team of grooming offence solicitors in London, Birmingham, and Manchester by telephone on:

City of London: 0207 624 7771 - our senior Solicitors and Partners can meet by appointment in the City.
Brent & Camden London Office: 0207 624 7771
Manchester Office: 0161 835 1638
Birmingham Office: 0121 614 3333

Or email: solicitors@jdspicer.co.uk

Alternatively, you can fill out our quick online enquiry form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.