Hi everyone,
I am a 31 year old male living in VIC. I was in QLD over the weekend visiting family and flew back to Melbourne on Sunday night. On the way back through security screening at the airport, I had just walked through security and was collecting my belongings (backpack, phone, keys wallet etc). The blue trays were a bit of a mess so I was stacking them up at the end of the table. In doing so I found a pair of sunglasses (about $200 Raybans) wedged in between two of the trays. I picked them up and looked around to see if they belonged to anybody nearby. It was rather quiet at the time and nobody was around so I had assumed the owner was long-gone and they were lost. I foolishly picked them up and pocketed the sunglasses in the front part of my backpack.
About 30 minutes later I was eating in the food court area of the airport and was approached by 3 members of the AFP. They questioned me about the sunglasses and then brought me into a private room to be questioned.
I immediately felt like an imbecile and confessed that I had picked them up and that they did not belong to me. They issued a notice for me to attend the QLD magistrate in 5 weeks from now, for theft. Whilst they advised me that it was a very very silly thing to do, they did mention that "it was not a big deal". I don't know if they were being honest based on previous incidents with other offenders but I am still extremely worried.
The whole experience has made me feel like and utter complete moron. I have been absolutely petrified and have barely slept since then. I have consulted legal advice and will be meeting with a lawyer tomorrow.
I have no prior criminal history and have recently graduated university and I am extremely worried about what this will do to my future career prospects and perhaps my ability to travel overseas to some countries. I was hoping somebody could please let me know what a realistic outcome is for this offense.
I am a 31 year old male living in VIC. I was in QLD over the weekend visiting family and flew back to Melbourne on Sunday night. On the way back through security screening at the airport, I had just walked through security and was collecting my belongings (backpack, phone, keys wallet etc). The blue trays were a bit of a mess so I was stacking them up at the end of the table. In doing so I found a pair of sunglasses (about $200 Raybans) wedged in between two of the trays. I picked them up and looked around to see if they belonged to anybody nearby. It was rather quiet at the time and nobody was around so I had assumed the owner was long-gone and they were lost. I foolishly picked them up and pocketed the sunglasses in the front part of my backpack.
About 30 minutes later I was eating in the food court area of the airport and was approached by 3 members of the AFP. They questioned me about the sunglasses and then brought me into a private room to be questioned.
I immediately felt like an imbecile and confessed that I had picked them up and that they did not belong to me. They issued a notice for me to attend the QLD magistrate in 5 weeks from now, for theft. Whilst they advised me that it was a very very silly thing to do, they did mention that "it was not a big deal". I don't know if they were being honest based on previous incidents with other offenders but I am still extremely worried.
The whole experience has made me feel like and utter complete moron. I have been absolutely petrified and have barely slept since then. I have consulted legal advice and will be meeting with a lawyer tomorrow.
I have no prior criminal history and have recently graduated university and I am extremely worried about what this will do to my future career prospects and perhaps my ability to travel overseas to some countries. I was hoping somebody could please let me know what a realistic outcome is for this offense.
