Originally Posted by
OilCanHarry
First-time / only-time poster here. I'm not sure if this will get past mods, but let's see. It's a genuine attempt to give advice to people here. I'm not going to go into specifics on my friend's situation for reasons that should be soon clear. Let's just say that he was in a room with a lady when Gardaí entered the premises. The whole episode was stressful at the time and for many months afterwards dealing with Gardaí, solicitors etc. Even after everything was sorted out, it didn't really end and is something that lingers with him today.
Let's call the first bit of advice "Rule 1", because after this, some of you should just stop reading. And Rule 1 is: "really think what it would be like if you were accused of breaking the law". This isn't a traffic offence or giving someone a slap after a few pints. It's one of those laws where the accusation is worse than the punishment. A €500 fine for a first offence? €1,000 for a second offence. Let's be honest - most of you wouldn't care too much about that. But the accusation? Finding that your name is in a file being sent to the DPP; that you have a court date; that evidence against you may be read out in court; that local journalists can report on it even if you're not found guilty - that's the kicker here for most men. For most, it's marriage-ending, it's potentially career ending and will forever afterwards leave a mark on your life. Your kids won't be asking friends to stay over any more because your kids' friends' parents will think you're some kind of sex offender. Even if the charges were dismissed - there's no smoke without fire, right!? For any of you in the punter end of the business, I'd seriously consider what happens if it just gets to that courtroom. While my friend was waiting to find out in his own case, he seriously considered suicide as the only unselfish option. His career and reputation were going to be fucked so he might as well have a wee accident so that family could collect some life insurance money and he wouldn't be such a shitbag in their eyes. It seemed much more selfish to just carry on and have them deal with a father who couldn't provide for them anymore and was also a slimeball who was forever an embarrassment to them. As I said, some of you should just stop reading from this point onwards, because everything else is about mitigation - reducing the risk. But the only way to eliminate it is to not make the call in the first place.
Next - mobile phones. No, the Gardaí cannot just demand that you unlock your phone. However, if the Gardaí enter a premises with a warrant and you're there, they CAN seize your phone as containing potential evidence. For most people that's a problem if you have your personal phone with you - because you won't be seeing that phone again for months. If you're lucky, you might be offered the opportunity to keep your phone if you unlock it for them to check for evidence of potential criminality. What's on that phone determines what happens next, but if there's anything incriminating on it, you're likely to be arrested and taken for questioning. So, don't be bringing your personal phone anywhere you don't want it to be seized! Leave it at home or in the car. If you're going with the burner option then I'd offer a few other pieces of advice. First - make sure it's genuinely an anonymised burner. Purchase the sim with cash. Top up with cash. Let plenty of time (I would recommend 6 months) pass before you start using a new burner. Secondly - while using a burner - assume everything you text is readable by the whole world. If you discuss sexual services by text, you're pretty fucked. If a provider does so, cancel the appointment. Even if you delete text messages from your phone, then they're still stored by the mobile company, and they're still on her phone too. When the Gardaí come knocking on that door, you can't trust that all of this has been deleted. Whatsapp is mildly better than text message, but you're still relying on her deleting any messages to or from you. You want to be Mr Fucking Nice Guy and say that you trust the ladies when they say the Gardaí aren't interested in them, and that they have everything secure - that's fine. But it's naive and puts you at more risk. Don't trust that ladies are being responsible with your security. End of story. The fact that we're still in an age where most business is organised by regular phone and text tells me that security isn't even close to top priority for anyone. That's not a dig at providers of escorting services, it's a recommendation to look after your own shit. Don't be lying awake at night wondering what the Gardaí seized and whether they're reading your texts / whatsapp messages right now. It would be fantastic if the industry moved on to using more security communications apps that don't leave a permanent, decrypted trail - but that's a rat hole I won't go down. I just find it astounding that so little has changed since 2017 in how providers and punters interact. There's been zero improvement in security, and it all relies on the pretense that "the Gardaí don't care about me, they care about that other guy in that other situation".
Next - the meeting with the Gardaí. For one thing - be respectful. Don't be a know-it-all prick. How they act towards you will depend a lot on the immediate evidence and your behaviour. Don't do anything that makes you arrestable. Don't struggle or run - you'll find an assault / resisting arrest charge added and that's more leverage against you. Don't give a false name or address. They deal with that crap all day and they will be checking out who you are. They'll give you opportunities to lie and get yourself in a knot - again, to use as leverage against you. That being said, don't answer any questions. Other than your name and address, all questions should be answered politely saying that you'd like to have a solicitor present first. Your instinct will be to say anything that gets you out of the situation as soon as possible. You adrenaline will maxed out and that will cause to speak without thinking, say easily provable lies, and it does absolutely nothing to get you out of trouble. The Gardaí may even try to give you a false sense of security that you don't have anything to worry about - that it's not you they are targeting etc. Don't believe it. Anything said is likely to end up in the Gardaí notebook and then in part of the file sent to the DPP. They are not your friends. If you are questioned, you may be asked to sign the Garda's notes. Read the fucking notes - make sure you don't put your signature to anything that says anything more than "he confirmed his name and address and that he would like access to a solicitor". At this point you could be arrested - maybe because of evidence on your phone or on the provider's phone. There may also be insufficient evidence to arrest you there and then, but that does not mean that charges cannot be brought against you later, or that you won't be asked to make an appointment at a Garda station later for questioning or a statement. In any case, the first thing you need is a good solicitor who specialises in criminal law. Don't try to google your way through the law on this one - your ignorance of it will be used against you.
The following days and months are going to be difficult if you're a normal human being who doesn't usually have run-ins with the law. There will be times you'll feel absolutely fine and disbelief that anything more will come of it. There will be other times where you'll be frozen with fear, questioning every step you took, everything you said, didn't say and overthinking every aspect of the day from the moment you called to the moment you left the Gardaí's presence. If you have anyone you can talk to about it - lucky you - do it. In most cases this is something we can only deal with ourselves, so do things to deal with the stress - exercise, meditation - whatever works. Try not to hit the alcohol as this can make the feelings worse, especially if you're having suicidal thoughts. Having meetings with your solicitor and having them handle communications with the Gardaí will help. At this point I have no further advice to give, because you should have your solicitor on board with the facts of your case, and dealing with them appropriately. But your solicitor will probably advise you that even if it goes no further, the incident will be recorded in Pulse (the Garda information system), aaaand is basically accessible to any Garda in the future. So have a think about your neighbours and family who might have access to Pulse.