Officers raid boy’s home for sharing photo sent by girl

Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney: We must record cases A TEENAGE boy’s mother says she was threatened with arrest after she refused to let him accept a caution for forwarding a naked selfie from a girl. The woman spent seven months battling police after officers raided her home and arrested her 13-year-old son.

She refused to let him accept a youth caution for sending on the unsolicited photo, fearing it may harm his career.

Describing the arrest by Leicestershire Police, she said: ‘It was just, “I am arresting you on suspicion of possession and distributing indecent images of a child”. I was in shock.’

Police confiscated phones, a laptop, tablet and iPod and took the boy away before he was sent home by the custody sergeant as he was inconsolable.

The family, who cannot be named, said a ‘slightly older’ girl had sent the boy the photo, so he ‘blocked’ her online, leading to a friend asking why. He then forwarded the image.

The mother told the BBC: ‘I thought someone was going to come and say, “I’m really sorry, this has been blown totally out of proportion. We realise it is kids being kids”.’ Instead police insisted on a youth caution. The woman claims she was threatened with arrest for ‘obstruction’ when she refused.

She said she was worried her son would have to explain the caution to employers, adding: ‘Something like possessing and distributing indecent images... I don’t think you would get very far explaining that.’

The case was dropped seven months later. Leicestershire Police said the force took ‘appropriate, proportionate and necessary action’.