Nak,

An offender on probation can petition the court at any time for an early termination of his probation, but that does not mean he will prevail and be rewarded with the early termination.

Most of the offenders I have worked with have served approximately 50% of their probation sentence before applying for early termination. My opinion is that his chances of winning an early termination after only four years is slim.

The PSI---or PSR---is not binding on the court as far as sentencing, so anything within the PSI is not binding. The PSI is merely a guide to help the judge determine the sentence. If your son’s plea agreement specifies that he serve a minimum of five years’ probation, the judge will go with the plea every time.

To have any chance at all, he will have to have all his court costs pain, have finished all his mandated programs, and have a positive relationship with the PO.

I would definitely check his plea agreement, as some plea agreements directly specify that the defendant must serve an “X” amount of years on probation. This may be what the Florida attorney was referring to.

Nak, I have known you for a very long time, and you know how I respect you helping your son as you have; but I don’t want you to waste your hard earned money on an early termination petition this soon.

Just my two cents.

rewdiazepam

Thanks Rew,
When he was first released here to Philly the first PO told him he should petition as soon as he finished the 1st year. I understand that it might not help.. but he has 15 years, which is steep for 1 count cp, especially here in Philly where every lawyer we spoke with when he was first released here were shocked that he was even prosecuted.
We've already been in front of the judge twice now. The first year to defend his right to not take SO treatment, as it stated in his release that Mental health and not SO treatment. Cost me $5k but we have it in writing again that he doesn't take SOT. He finished his mental health treatment first year.
Then last year his new PO then said my son had cp on his phone.. well, the phone internet was turned back on by the phone company and for the 2 years it was turned on my son never even tried the internet... long story short.. the judge ripped the PO a new one for accusing my son of searching for cp when forensics clearly showed he never went there. It was refreshing to see the judge rip the PO for almost an hour on things like.. making my son take a poly to see if he was lying about the phone. The judge didn't like the way the probation department was behaving.

I've reread his release papers a million times and nothing about mandatory 5 years. I know that PSI is just recommendations so I think the lawyer just wants us to wait.. but my son is innocent. He has no social life, he can't use the internet without it being monitored.. so he refuses to use it. He's 27 now and has been under the feds thumb since he was 19.
We're going to try for it.. may be a waste of money but Philly is a lot better than other states.

Nak

Nak,

I am familiar with your son’s case and yes, he did receive a bad deal by the system. I also understand your anger at the system for the abuse you and your son have been forced to endure because of these silly charges.

If you will remember, I HATE injustices.

I remember the situation with him and them trying to make him take the SOTP and the fact that the phone company messed up and he was falsely accused of having CP on his phone. Just a horrendous situation that could have been avoided if the prosecutor had used good judgment and never prosecuted his case in the first place.

I would double check his plea agreement to make sure there is not a stipulation there regarding the minimum amount of time he must serve while on probation.

But you are correct in that it never hurts to try for an early termination of his probation right now. He may be turned down, but he will never know until you try.

Good luck.

rewdiazepam

thanks Rew.. good to be back on the board. We all need the support of each other and the feedback of those who have been thru it. I'll double check everything for sure.

Can somebody help me. Last Dec 2016 my son was arrested for 8 counts of having child porn on his computer. The lead investigator even said he never searched for child porn. But my son uploaded some porn that showed a headline pic of hot young chics but inside the peer sharing site they put child porn in it. My son seen a couple videos and was freaked out and put it in the recycle bin. We live in the state of FL. He just got sentenced a couple of weeks ago. They did not put him in prison because I have brain cancer and ovarian cancer. Instead they gave him 10 years probation with the possibility of only 5 years. His Parole Officer denies every address we give him. I even check on google maps and property appraisers office to make sure the places are more than the minimum distance. This PO is on a real power trip. My son stays in my Jeep on the side of the road about 800-900 feet away from my condo. I also have 5 cats so makes it even harder to find places. I seen on here where someone's son has had 5 PO's. How do you get the PO changed? This PO just got transferred from another county and he is overwhelmed and just a straight out asshole. He comes around my son at night while he asleep in my Jeep and shows up at his job. Please can someone help. My son should of taken this to trial. I didn't have $50.000 for a good attorney so paid some no real experience attorney $6000. This guy gave my son very bad advice. I am afraid for my son! Please Help!

going to trial is not the answer. The prosecutors lie and the judges don't care. Especially in Floriduh. My son had to take a plea or they would up charges and going to court he was looking at possible 25 years if convicted. Forensics help but at this point you can't get them done. If he has family that lives in another state or who is willing to move to another state to set up a home and possible job, as long as they're his family.. they might let him transfer out of state.

Ww23809,

You said, “Please can someone help. My son should of taken this to trial.”

Oh, no, he would have had a much longer sentence if he went to trial. Nak is right.

Let me tell you what happens when a CP defendant goes to trial. The DA will charge every count---every image---and try the defendant on every image. When the defendant is found guilty on every image, he is sentenced on each image. So for example, let’s say your son had five images and each image carried a possible five year prison term. When the jury found him guilty---and they would---he would be looking at 25 years in prison if the judge ran the sentences consecutively rather than concurrently.

Why would he get convicted?? First, if they found the images in his possession, he is guilty of possession. They don’t really care how they got there, but that they are there. Secondly, you can be damned sure the prosecutor would make sure the jury had a long look at some of the images. When they saw an image of a child being raped by an adult, emotion would take over. They would be so angry with your son that they would throw the book at him.

As it is, he negotiated a plea bargain that most likely dropped all the charges except one and he was sentenced on that one single count. He could have never been acquitted at trial, and especially down there in Florida.

Going to trial on multiple charges of a sex offense against a child or CP is a recipe for a very long prison term.

Nak, is right. He should NOT have gone to trial.

Rewdiazepam

PS Here is my thoughts on asking for a new PO. You can go over the current POs head to his supervisor and ask for a new PO, but that does not mean you will be successful. But by doing that you risk the chance that his current PO will be pissed and take it out on your son. My advice is to try to get along with the PO. If he insists something absolutely unreasonable, you can talk to his supervisor or even petition the court to address the problem as Nak did with her son.

It is always best to try to work out problems with the PO.

I'm from Florida generally if an SO wants to modify his/her probation the time that offender has been on probation has really nothing to do with it, plea agreements are accepted by the trial judge it's the judges call it's better to modify the probations conditions first "most offenders get fees and costs waived", then finish counseling then if the probation officer will sign-off move to vacate with an attorney.

Actually.. there was a house bill that said SOs have a mandatory supervised released is 5 years. But since it's not in his release papers and the judge did not notify him at sentencing it leaves this a bit open. Laws also say SO treatment is required, yet the judge gave my son mental health treatment instead.. so nothing is set in stone. These laws are vague and sifting thru them , things are missed and opportunities arise. Glad we're here in Philly where my son has a chance of getting off sooner.. and not Floriduh where there's really not much hope.