Technical Analysis in Alleged Sexual Harm Prevention Order Investigation

In a criminal investigation involving an alleged breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), IntaForensics were instructed to provide an expert assessment of monitoring software installed on a defendant’s mobile phone. Our objective was to determine whether the application’s failure could have occurred without any deliberate interference. Our findings proved crucial in establishing an alternative explanation and contributed to the discontinuation of the case. 

The case concerned a registered sex offender who was subject to a SHPO that required the installation and continued operation of a monitoring application on his mobile device. During a routine inspection, the manager of the offender discovered that the software had stopped functioning, and the defendant was subsequently charged with breaching the terms of the order. 

With no direct evidence of tampering, the defence sought to establish whether the failure of the application could be attributed to non-malicious technical causes. 

The prosecution’s case rested on the assumption that the monitoring software had been manually disabled by the defendant. However, the failure of the application to run at the time of inspection, on its own, did not establish intent or interference.

The defence instructed IntaForensics to investigate whether the monitoring software could have ceased operation due to factors beyond the user’s control. Establishing this was critical to assessing whether the alleged breach had occurred because of deliberate action or a technical fault.

IntaForensics undertook a structured forensic investigation to replicate the conditions under which the application failure may have occurred. The process involved the following key actions:

Device and operating system replication
We sourced a handset identical to that used by the defendant and installed the same version of the operating system to ensure accurate testing conditions.

Software acquisition and installation
In collaboration with the original developers, we obtained the relevant monitoring application and installed it onto the test device in a clean environment.

Battery management testing
We explored how battery depletion and power-saving features impacted the operation of the software. Special attention was given to scenarios in which the device’s battery fully discharged.

Controlled environment testing
We conducted multiple tests across different scenarios, including shutdowns, reboots, and variable charge levels, to determine when and how the application might fail to restart automatically.

Expert reporting
A formal expert witness report was prepared, documenting the test methodology, results, and conclusions. The report was designed for court use and provided clear technical insight into the reliability of the software under typical conditions.

Our investigation established that under specific conditions — particularly complete battery depletion — the monitoring software could fail to resume operation without any user intervention.

The expert investigation confirmed that the failure of the application could occur naturally because of system-level power management. There was no need for deliberate interference to explain the issue observed during the offender manager’s inspection. 

This finding introduced sufficient doubt as to whether the defendant had intentionally breached the SHPO. As a result, the prosecution chose to discontinue the case at Crown Court. 

This case demonstrates the importance of thorough, objective testing in cases involving compliance technologies. IntaForensics provides expert insight that ensures technical evidence is accurately interpreted and fairly presented in court.

Contact IntaForensics to discover how our digital investigation services can support your case with integrity, accuracy, and expert insight. Get in touch at sales@intaforensics.com or call us on: 0247 77 17780.