> For 3 weeks everyone around you assumes you're guilty
It sounds like it was worse than that. After 3 weeks they gave him back his laptop because they found no evidence on it, and stopped pursuing charges.
But the police never explained why they suspected him, nor did they uncover their own mistake regarding the IP address.
So, at the end of the 3 weeks he went from being actively under investigation for child pornography to no longer under active investigation for child pornography.
That's a small step forward - now not-quite-everyone around you assumes you're guilty.
It took years before his solicitor uncovered the error and there was enough information available to demonstrate that he should never have been a suspect and it was all due to a police screw-up.
It sounds like it was worse than that. After 3 weeks they gave him back his laptop because they found no evidence on it, and stopped pursuing charges.
But the police never explained why they suspected him, nor did they uncover their own mistake regarding the IP address.
So, at the end of the 3 weeks he went from being actively under investigation for child pornography to no longer under active investigation for child pornography.
That's a small step forward - now not-quite-everyone around you assumes you're guilty.
It took years before his solicitor uncovered the error and there was enough information available to demonstrate that he should never have been a suspect and it was all due to a police screw-up.