UK (UK) Would it be hard for a sex offender to become an electrician and keep a job?

[pqowieuryt]

These are for charges relating to when I was young and dumb but I now have to register as a sex offender for life with an indefinite SHPO. I'm not seeking any forgiveness.

I'm looking to become an electrician or something within the trades but I'm worrying whether I will have trouble finding work as one due to my charges.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Baddegg]

I think that’s the point @Midwest we don’t know the details but as an employer would you want to potentially hear them?...,..or would you just say no thanks?
And I’m certainly not condoning drunken assault...I’m certainly not judging the op either merely giving my views on the question,

 

[JBW175]

Neither am i condoning drunken assault. But what i am saying is, i'd be more inclined to give a job to someone who'd been in a fight 15 years ago, where there may have been aggravating and mitigating circumstances and not been in trouble since, than i am to someone who's got a SHPO.

I can't see any mitigating circumstances whatsoever in respect to talking to / grooming teenage girls for sexual gratification online, which is ultimately what it is, lets not try and play it down, there's no other reason for it & we all know it's wrong!!!

They don't have to be young children either, The OP's already said it was for teenage girls. 13, 14, & 15 year old girls are all children and should be protected from that sort of abuse. He wouldn't have been hit with an SHPO for chatting innocently to 17 year old. It'd have to be something serious to get one in the first place, as they don't hand them out for fun.

 

[Midwest]

I don’t know about SHPO, but I suspect they are intended to ‘manage’ persons in the community. They would disclosed on checks, not something that can be hidden, be valid until further ordered, prevent them from doing certain things, disclosable for certain employment even if spent and breaching the order is a criminal offence. That’s what I’ve read.

So someone whose recognised their wrong is effectively managed for some considerable time after conviction, possibly for the rest of their life.

Do they not have a chance to try and lead a normal life, with all these checks and balances? Someone who has rebilatated?

 

[Darkwood]

I think the OP is missing a key issue here too in that the potential employee has to take an unprecedented risk to their own business and career, we have all seen those videos on youtube where a stupid act like a driving offense caught on dashcam by an employee can lose them their job and in some cases do irreversible damage to the company, it can takes yrs to decades to build up a company reputation and it can be sunk in a matter of minutes through a careless act. This isn't about the likelihood of reoffending here, this is one of those crimes that if it does get out could ruin a company simply by association.
The information the company has about the OP will need to be disclosed a number of times and will not only affect the type of work like domestic, industrial or commercial but also working with other trades, effectively if the company or any other company they work along side has say apprentices, work experience etc on site who can be as young as 14 and 15 then they may be required to put special measures in place like permanent supervision etc, even if measures could be implemented it is the court of public opinion that is the biggest risk to the company and the longer the OP is employed and the more times that this is disclosed the higher the likelihood of it been leaked out causing possible irreparable damage to the company.

It maybe the case the OP will never reoffend, it maybe the case the OP has served their time for the crime but the nature of the crime means it will not only weigh heavily on their shoulders for life but also puts a heavy burden on any potential employer especially ones where the job see's them interacting with the public on a regular basis regardless of the age.

My advice is if you want this type of career or similar is to look for employment where you effectively work in one identified environment like been the 'inhouse' electrician for say a factory etc, these types of jobs will not require your details to be submitted to anyone else other than your employee when you apply for the job and limitations and measures could be agreed beforehand between you both and as long as you abide by them then no one else needs to be the wiser giving you better prospects and job security.

I have deliberately kept away from my own views here and tried to give constructive advice, it is not for me as part of the forum to play judge and jury for a crime in your past which you have served your punishment on but I must in part reflect on the difficulties you may face and the risks that employers will be taking in employing you, hopefully I gave you direction that may see you get a career you want but as you are well aware, your options are limited so you have a much harder mountain to climb than most.

 

[Midwest]

I think the OP is missing a key issue here too in that the potential employee has to take an unprecedented risk to their own business and career, we have all seen those videos on youtube where a stupid act like a driving offense caught on dashcam by an employee can lose them their job and in some cases do irreversible damage to the company, it can takes yrs to decades to build up a company reputation and it can be sunk in a matter of minutes through a careless act. This isn't about the likelihood of reoffending here, this is one of those crimes that if it does get out could ruin a company simply by association.
The information the company has about the OP will need to be disclosed a number of times and will not only affect the type of work like domestic, industrial or commercial but also working with other trades, effectively if the company or any other company they work along side has say apprentices, work experience etc on site who can be as young as 14 and 15 then they may be required to put special measures in place like permanent supervision etc, even if measures could be implemented it is the court of public opinion that is the biggest risk to the company and the longer the OP is employed and the more times that this is disclosed the higher the likelihood of it been leaked out causing possible irreparable damage to the company.

It maybe the case the OP will never reoffend, it maybe the case the OP has served their time for the crime but the nature of the crime means it will not only weigh heavily on their shoulders for life but also puts a heavy burden on any potential employer especially ones where the job see's them interacting with the public on a regular basis regardless of the age.

My advice is if you want this type of career or similar is to look for employment where you effectively work in one identified environment like been the 'inhouse' electrician for say a factory etc, these types of jobs will not require your details to be submitted to anyone else other than your employee when you apply for the job and limitations and measures could be agreed beforehand between you both and as long as you abide by them then no one else needs to be the wiser giving you better prospects and job security.

I have deliberately kept away from my own views here and tried to give constructive advice, it is not for me as part of the forum to play judge and jury for a crime in your past which you have served your punishment on but I must in part reflect on the difficulties you may face and the risks that employers will be taking in employing you, hopefully I gave you direction that may see you get a career you want but as you are well aware, your options are limited so you have a much harder mountain to climb than most.

You lost your point after your first line.

I don't think he's unaware, I might be wrong, but he seems fully aware of the hill he needs to climb. And by the comments and personnel opinions here, it seems by many, its a seriously steep hill climb he will have to endeavor. Whilst not dismissing (his crime) what he's done, it perhaps is at the slightly less obnoxious category (down to personnel opinion I know) of sexual crime.

If we confine peoples who have served prison sentences (or other such sentences), to no longer being able to work for society, then they will end up back in prison, costing society more money and more troubles.

We cannot pick and choose which crimes we find are palatable. With checks & balances, these people (the ones that have recognized their faults & rehabilitated) can & should move forward.

There's nothing special about being an electrician, just a job OP feels is right for him, bearing in mind he gave up looking after #24. Perhaps he should of asked on Youtube!

 

[David Prosser]

I would think that I have to do it for self employed work yes.

I would still very much like to get into the trade but I wouldn't like to go through college and apprenticeships and go through several years of training and become qualified just to find out no one will hire me despite it.

They would not be your employers, they would be your customers. I would try that question with a lawyer familiar with your situation, not an electricians forum.

Personally fair play to you for coming on here and asking. Good luck and keep your nose (and other parts of your body) clean!

 

[Zerax]

They don't have to be young children either, The OP's already said it was for teenage girls. 13, 14, & 15 year old girls are all children and should be protected from that sort of abuse.

Did you know that the "age of consent" varies from country to country ? Even in Europe, it can be as low as 14. Until a few years ago it was 13 in Spain !

 

[Marvo]

They would not be your employers, they would be your customers. I would try that question with a lawyer familiar with your situation, not an electricians forum.

Personally fair play to you for coming on here and asking. Good luck and keep your nose (and other parts of your body) clean!

I'd be inclined to agree that 'customers' wouldn't be the same thing legally as 'employers'. I'd also suggest getting a legal opinion on whether you'd be required to disclose your history to customers if you became self employed.

 

[Midwest]

I'd be inclined to agree that 'customers' wouldn't be the same thing legally as 'employers'. I'd also suggest getting a legal opinion on whether you'd be required to disclose your history to customers if you became self employed.

That’s a point to consider, disclosure your to ‘customers’.

In the UK, only certain registered employers are allowed to apply for DBS checks on prospective employee’s, with their consent.

A self-employed person who is eligible for a standard or enhanced DBS check can ask the organisation that wishes to contract their services, to apply for their check (gov.uk).

I doubt many, if any domestic customers would be eligible.

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

Did you know that the "age of consent" varies from country to country ? Even in Europe, it can be as low as 14. Until a few years ago it was 13 in Spain !

Doesn’t matter what country your in, if you look at a 14 year old and think it’s alright you need stringing up if it’s legal or not. Once you hit 18 and can go outdrinking and stuff there’s no excuse really to be preying on girls under 16 at all.

 

[Zerax]

Doesn’t matter what country your in, if you look at a 14 year old and think it’s alright you need stringing up if it’s legal or not. Once you hit 18 and can go outdrinking and stuff there’s no excuse really to be preying on girls under 16 at all.

Did you know that you can't go out drinking in the USA until you're 21... and in many countries it's 16.

 

[Midwest]

Doesn’t matter what country your in, if you look at a 14 year old and think it’s alright you need stringing up if it’s legal or not. Once you hit 18 and can go outdrinking and stuff there’s no excuse really to be preying on girls under 16 at all.

I preyed on 14 year girls, when I was 14. Would it be right, had I got put on the the register?

 

[Darkwood]

Did you know that the "age of consent" varies from country to country ? Even in Europe, it can be as low as 14. Until a few years ago it was 13 in Spain !

This may be the case but we all follow the law of the land we are in and ours arent so low, also what you have not mentioned here is that even in these countries you will find there are supplementary laws to the age of consent meaning the young teenagers are still protected, basically if you are 18+ you cant be getting intimate with a 13yr old even when it is legal by consent because of the laws are superseded by others that protect the kids. We have similar laws regarding 16yr olds, as a 16yr old is still legally classed as a child then anyone in a position of authority ie 18 or older can be prosecuted. The age of consent is more about teenagers not breaking the law if they are in relationships with others of a similar age in these countries, it still doesn't give any adult a free pass to have a sexual relationship with a young teenager.

 

[Cookie]

Probably because every one of us has at some point punched or seriously considered punching someone.....a crime involving children especially this type of crime is not something most people can relate to and don’t even want to think about...I don’t know the details and I don’t want to....And rightly or wrongly people do not want to be associated with it...on a personal level I wouldn’t employ a drunk driver either

Every single adolescent makes egregious mistakes as the human brain isn't done developing until the late 20s. The difference being some get away with their mistakes, others get caught or the outcome ends up being more noticeable. I had friends who got drunk while on drugs driving around 100MPH on back roads at 12 a.m. just for the fun of it- sometimes even throwing things or hanging out the window. We got away with it as usually parents never found out- except that one kid who ended up causing a fatal wreck...

I think what this boils down to were the OP's actions driven honest mistakes or by a continuing latent desire to take advantage of others.

Don't get me wrong, it is by no means ok to commit evil acts or harm other people children included.

 

[Midwest]

I relieved we have laws protecting young children and teenagers from sexual assault and exploitation.

We've had too many cases of grooming of young girls, like here in Oxford and in Rotherham. We've also had many examples of peoples using social media to do the same.

But I think it still needs some fine tuning. I know of a young man of 24, who started a relationship with a 16 year old girl, which some suggest is illegal.

But that was back then, she's now in her 60's and he in his 70's. Still married, and have Grandchildren. Was what he did wrong, or have society got things wrong?