First things first I hope anyone reading this doesn't have to ever experience what I and probably many others have. My heart goes out to those who have had it worse than me I know some people end up doing time for horrible crimes that they didn't commit.
I want to start with saying that to this day I have always told the same situation and series of events to every person, lawyer, probation etc. The only thing I was ever guilty of was trusting the wrong people and being in the wrong place and the wrong time. I was scared and miss-advised.
When I first went to magistrates court I was advised that it was my choice to have it dealt with there or to go to crown court. I chose crown court as that is where more people are found innocent. However a lot further down the line right before my trial my barrister pulled me aside and said that any jury were likely to find me guilty, the evidence didn't look good and I was more than likely to get found guilty. If this was the case I was going to face a long sentence in prison, I was told if I plead guilty I would be given the benefit of the doubt and would most likely be given a suspended sentence or community service. I made the decision that I believe any sane person would. This had been going on for a year! I'd bumped into the people responsible on more than one occasion and it sickened me that they had not ever been looked for or arrested.
I just wanted it all to be over and I was willing to risk having a criminal record if that's all it was. Then when the articles came out about me I couldn't believe it! As if I hadn't gone through enough and the cheek of them saying they thought I got off likely....HA if they had any idea!! I phoned my lawyer immediately and said I wanted to appeal my case. Unfortunately as I had already pleaded guilty I wouldn't be able to change my plea and appeal...ridiculous seeing as I felt pressured into it under the threat of jail. The picture of the shoes almost made me laugh I hadn't gained anything at all from this - they searched my house and found nothing, I offered them bank statements to check that the only money that went in was from work.
I've worked since I was 16, some jobs in finance and I have always been a very honest person, never even been arrested or cautioned before. They left out those important details though didn't they....Oh and I have also never ever described myself as a model or a aspiring model, even though I have been paid for modelling work it is not the way I represent myself, the press clearly just typed in my name in google and had a field day with it.
This has been affecting my family and my future now and not just the current. This system is meant to rehabilitate people and really I honestly believe I've been used as a scapegoat and example to society. The real people responsible for the crime will still commit it, and seeing as I never did, I never would again anyway. When they find someone to pin the crimes on the truth is they can't be bothered to look for anyone who is actually responsible.
I am not only releasing my version of the article to give my side of things but also to make people aware that this is not uncommon, too many innocent people are getting caught in paying for crimes that they didn't commit and this system needs some tweeks. I would honestly love to hear other people's experiences with this.
The articles written about me were untrue, they know nothing and they twisted a lot of things too.
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