First and most important: Do NOT speak or talk anymore with these so-called "friendly" cops. They may be nice and pretend they are understanding but law enforcement only has one goal in mind and that is to make an arrest that leads to a conviction.

They are NOT your friends. Talking with them any more will only make it harder on your son. Many people think by talking to them it will make it easier on them.
Not true. Anything you say, no matter how innocent sounding to you or your son, will be turned and used against you.

They are not nice people or your friends. In fact, they are ruthless.

The mental evaluation cannot hurt anything, although it might not make much difference. Just the effort might help. Prosecutors have been known to show no mercy to people with autism, as they really don't care.

Yes, your son needs mental help. I will agree with the officer that said he needs help, but the only "help" the police will give is to attempt to put him in a jail cell.
I know I sound jaded, but I am realistic and you need to be warned of having anything to say to anyone in law enforcement.

Do not discuss this case with anyone except your attorney.

I wish you well. Take one day at a time.

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We learned that the hard way. They told us they wanted to talk to him, we didn't know what was going on until he was charged. Our attorney started this task force and was the DA for years until they changed the laws and wanted to put young men in jail longer than someone who committed murder.He is suppose to be one of the best in the state. He also works with JJT institute Phila. He told us if a police officer knocked on his door he would tell them to come back with a warrant. But he does think the female detective was some partly responsible for half the charges being dropped because she shouldn't have talked to us after he charged and
I just wish I could wake up and this nightmare was over. Since he has been in jail he has been trying to help other inmates , he always ask me to call this guys moms because is she ill and he's worried, that is my son that I know and love. My son doesn't have autism, he has major depression. Thank you for responding. I no longer trust the police even though we have friends that are police officers.

Dear Wmom; Please heed REW's advice, word for word. My family has been thru the same EXACT thing. Austism might as well be martian to them! Any words will be used against him, as we found out. If you need anything else, just come here and ask us. REW is our sage and I have walked in your shoes.

If your attorney is as good as you say, then listen to him and follow his advice. And you should speak with him in great detail about the psych evaluation, and see if he will motion for it to be placed under seal of the court so it cannot be used against him in the future if the state were to pursue civil commitment proceedings against your son.

Worriedmompa,

Since you and your son have already probably said too much to law enforcement, you need to go from here. Talking to the cops was a bad idea, but many people do not understand the criminal justice system and have been made to believe all their lives that cops are there to help you. They are not there to help; in fact, they are not nice people.

So it is really not you or your son's fault that you talked too much to the police.

I mentioned autism, not because I thought you son was autistic, but because I know a few other cases in which the defendant was autistic and it did not matter to the prosecutor.

So you have to go on from here. You have retained an attorney, which is a major and very important step. That is the wisest thing you could have done. Let HIM do ALL your talking from now on.

I have been through this entire mess and have met many other guys who have walked in your shoes. In fact, everyone I knew in prison had been down this road.

It is important for your son and your family to take ONE DAY AT A TIME. I know that is a worn out cliche, but it is so true in these criminal investigations.
These situations burden the human mind to such a degree that we become overwhelmed and CONSUMED by it all if we try to look too far ahead.

We are here to help you. You will not find a board with as many wise ladies who can give you the support you need to get through this. Each and every person who posts on this board has been through your situation although we are all in different phases of the process.

More importantly, this is a board that you can feel SAFE in talking about your emotions without being ridiculed or criticized. If we even get a hint of any hostility toward you, we band together and get it stopped. Yes, we have our spats every once in a while, but we are family and we care about each other.

God Bless you and your family.

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We did our own forensics when my son was waiting for sentencing. I'm glad we did. My son downloaded by accident but the cops always make things look worse than they are anyway. Since this is cp don't trust their forensics either. It's a big costly. I paid for a really good forensics guy in Florida. It cost me $2,500 each time. I had him do it twice looking for the really bad cp the cops said they found him with.. and according to our forensics it was not on his computer. I keep my 2 precious forensic finding hoping some day I can use it to show my son was innocent. I compared our forensics with the cops and it was a big difference.
They'll tell you that they have a shrink that you could go to.. find your own. We also spent $2500 for an evaluation from a sex offender theorapist on our own and it lead the judge to take off the sex offender treatment when he was sentenced. My son has yet to be released, in another month. According to our evaluation the judge said he had to take some treatment but not SO treatment. I think I have a fight ahead of me in that respect but it's in his sentencing.

My son lived alone and talked.. I have his 'confession'. You can get an audio of your son's confession as well. I've gotten everything I could possibly get. They made like they were his friends too.. told him that he needed help and they were there to help him. They're not your friends.

I am sorry this has happened to your son and feel your pain. The justice system does not want to help your son or care about his mental health. They just want to put him in jail and a long nightmare called probation. My husband has depression and it makes everything worse. The treatment team he works with could care less and they treat everyone the same. There is a level system in my state and many other states where a mental illness prognosis makes his level higher and more dangerous even though there were no victims. They have no pity. Work with your lawyer and don't give any information to the cops. They don't want to help - just convict. What state are you in? Take one day at a time and take care of yourself. Your son needs you.

You are right he did talk to them and that is why is bail was so much higher then the other people arrested because they had an attorney. We never had to deal with legal system before and now we know to never talk without an attorney .We are trying to take things one day at time. My family and friends have been supportive. My husband are both working part time jobs on top of our full time jobs to cover the bills. But it also helps to keep our minds busy instead of constant worry. My son constantly worries about the future about will he sill have friends and be able to find a job. We tell him concentrate on the support he has and deal with the rest later. Right now he is in a county prison and I'm so worried about him going to a state prison,.Thank you for your support I have friends I talk too but they have no idea how hard this has been.