Sunnyone,

I now have several friend requests pending, but I cannot accept them as the site is broken again. If anyone has sent me a friend request, I just have not been able to accept it as the site is not working well today; I can see the requests, but cannot accept them.

Also, we had a huge storm here last night with lightning, so the internet is spotty. I don’t know when you will receive this message, but I will send it ASAP.

Sunnyone, your husband needs an attorney ASAP. An attorney is the only buffer or protection he has against the state trying to prosecute him. Right now he is unprotected.

No, you don’t have any idea what is going on since he has no representation. Has he been arraigned?? His attorney should have been taken care of at arraignment. I am fairly certain that in this next court hearing the attorney problem will be taken care of.

The judge will not be happy that he does not already have an attorney and will make sure he gets one at this hearing. Every defendant by law has to have an attorney, as it is a Sixth Amendment right.

If these questions are questions you have answered previously, ignore them. I cannot get to my messages to read any previous messages we have sent or received.

Without an attorney the prosecutor will run right over your husband.

Once he has an attorney, the map of your future will be somewhat clearer. At least you will have a vague idea where this is headed.

Sunnyone, I don’t know exactly what you and your children are going through, as I am not in your shoes, but I once was a defendant in a sex case, and I have a general ideal. The confusion, fear, anger, and complete bewilderment must be there for you to deal with every day. But I will tell you that you WILL get through this, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

There will be times that you do not know what you are doing and it will seem as if this nightmare will never end, but it will, trust me. In the beginning, all the families and offenders I have helped have felt a myriad of negative emotions, but this is normal. Just protect yourself and your children. You are not alone and we understand.

You will have to take small steps and take one day at a time or you will get overwhelmed with all this and it may begin to consume you. You may even have to compartmentalize each step to make it easier to get through.

OK, the next thing I want you to remember---- and write this down if you need to. When he gets an attorney, he needs a psychosexual examination done by a qualified health professional. This mental exam will determine that he is NOT a continuing threat to society and has only a very slim chance of reoffending.

These positive psychosexual examinations make a world of difference with the prosecutor and the judge in regards to the severity of the sentence he receives. A positive exam may mean the difference between him going to prison and being able to serve his sentence on probation.

But above all, I want you to remember that your husband is not a monster. He is a good and decent man who just somehow lost his way in life. My opinion is that many CP cases are more mental health issues than sexual dysfunction problems or criminal justice issues. Something happens in a guy’s life---or in his past---the triggers the offense.

You said, “We have no idea what's going to happen, since he has no lawyer. And the not knowing is really eating at me right now.”

I can tell you that nothing much will happen at this hearing. Since I think he has been arraigned, they will appoint him an attorney and maybe lower his bond or bail. This hearing will be a pretrial hearing in which the judge will get both sides together to see what progress they have made in this case. Since your husband does not have an attorney, nothing has happened. I imagine this court hearing will not last over 30 minutes.

You can expect several more pretrial hearings. The next “real” court date your husband would have is a preliminary hearing, but I doubt he will actually have one as this case will not go to trial and is a plea bargain case.

He absolutely cannot afford to roll the dice and go to trial. A young man received 100 years for CP charges just a few days ago when he went to trial, and we don’t want that happening to your family. I am not trying to scare you, but to make you understand that going to trial on all these counts could be a life ender.

One thing I want to caution you about is that sometimes in one of these investigations the wife, GF, or mother of the defendant will receive a call from Mr. Friendly Detective requesting that he speak to her about the case or about her husband. NO, NO, HELL, NO. Do NOT talk to this guy. He is NOT your friend, although he will act like it. Law enforcement are not humanitarians; their main goal is to make arrests, which ultimately leads to conviction. He is only trying to make your husband’s case worse by getting you to say something he can twist and turn to make your husband seem like a really bad guy. This is what detectives do. If he calls, tell him that “you will not talk to anyone without your attorney present.” And then stick with it. Keep it zipped.

Many people think they have an obligation to speak to the police. They do not. Even if a person is arrested, he should not talk to the police. Instead he should exercise his Fifth Amendment privilege and keep quiet. Many a man has talked his way to prison by trying to explain what may or may not have happened in his case.

With a positive mental evaluation and your continued support, your husband has a good chance of being sentenced to probation.

Keep me posted and God bless you and your family,

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