Crime & Punishment

I'd have to go with spank on this 100%. I can attest to the idiocy that is CCP. I'm currently fighting an issue with them over another account, where I presented my case with irrefutable evidence & they've resorted to ignoring it for days now. I can say with confidence that I'm sure they would simply bring the ban hammer down, as they can't be arsed to spend any real effort investigating anything anymore if you're not part of the CFC block & get thousands of other players to petition on your behalf.

For a more solid answer though; I would recommend turning in a petition and ask them directly. Once you get a response, if it's a favorable one, let them close the petition, but never delete it. That way you have it as a reference to lean on should you move forward and have any negative action taken against you. Just remember that you need to have them close it, otherwise it counts as one of your open petitions and could potentially clog up your ability to petition a ship loss in the future if it remains open indefinitely.