Children using ipads are ‘at risk of sexual abuse’

PARENTS who allow children to use ipads and other tablets unsupervised can put them at risk of sexual abuse, the NSPCC says after a huge rise in cyber sex crimes

Around 15 children every day are being exposed to cyber sex crimes, new figures have revealed.

In total, there were 5,653 child sex crimes involving the internet recorded in 2016-17, an increase of 44 per cent on the previous year’s figures.

The NSPCC, which obtained the data through Freedom of Information requests, said it was urging the next government to introduce strict internet safety measures to protect children.

The charity has developed a tool called Net Aware to help parents protect their children and says younger children should be supervised.

NSPCC policy manager Lisa Mccrindle said: “Parents need to keep an eye on youngsters using devices and monitor the content they are accessing.”

The sex crime data showed that, among police forces that recorded ages, 13 was the most common age of a victim. There were almost 100 crimes committed against youngsters aged 10 and under, and the youngest victim was aged three.