Anti-grooming law delay ‘unacceptable’
CHILD safety campaigners have condemned an “unacceptable” delay in bringing an anti-grooming law into force which may have saved Kayleigh Haywood’s life.
The 15-year-old Measham schoolgirl was groomed online by a stranger over a period of two weeks before his neighbour raped and murdered her in November 2015.
The Government introduced new legislation at the start of 2015 which would make it a criminal offence for an adult to send a sexual communication to anyone aged under 16.
But, nearly two years later, the law is yet to be triggered in England and Wales, despite the successful introduction in Scotland which recorded more than 1,500 offences in the first six months.
Charity NSPCC criticised the “baffling” delay and wrote to Justice Secretary Liz Truss demanding answers.
Ally Sultana, Midlands campaigns manager, said: “In 2015, after more than 50,000 people joined the NSPCC’s ‘Flaw in the Law’ campaign, the Government introduced legislation to arm police with new powers to tackle paedophiles.
“But now - almost two years later – the Government is dragging its feet and the law is yet to be triggered, despite the fact that similar legislation is already proving successful elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
“This new offence was supposed to mean that the law could be brought to bear on anyone who grooms children online, yet in too many cases the police have been left powerless to take action to protect children who are increasingly being targeted by abusers online.
“The public have backed our campaign, Parliament has agreed to it and progress in Scotland shows that young victims are bravely coming forward and beginning to reveal the sickening numbers of adults targeting children for abuse.
“All this makes the Government’s delay even more baffling and unacceptable.”
Childline figures show the number of children seeking counselling after being targeted by online predators rose nearly a quarter last year to 3,716.
On April 5 2016, Luke Har- low, 28, from Ibstock, admitted grooming Kayleigh Haywood and pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity.
He was found guilty of false imprisonment following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court on June 28 and was jailed for 12 years.
His neighbour, Stephen Beadman, 29, admitted to rape and murder on April 5 2016.
On June 7, he was found guilty of false imprisonment and was given a life sentence in which he will serve a minimum of 35 years.
A spokesman for NSPCC added: “Kayleigh’s horrific murder was a stark reminder about the risks of social media and it is vital that we help as many children as possible to learn about those dangers and understand how best to protect themselves.”