Online grooming tops 3,000 crimes in a year
More than 3,000 offences of grooming children online for sex have been committed by paedophiles in the first year since a new law on sexual communication was introduced last April. Almost three quarters of the cases occurred on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, although predators targeted children through a total of 80 different sites, apps or platforms, according to the figures obtained from police forces by the NSPCC. The youngest victim was just five years old.
MORE than 3,000 offences of grooming children online for sex have been committed by paedophiles in the first year since a new law on sexual communication was introduced last April, police have revealed.
Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram accounted for almost three quarters of the cases, with sexual predators target- ing children through a total of 80 different sites, apps or platforms, according to the figures obtained from police forces by the NSPCC. They youngest victim was just five.
The 3,171 offences are more than 50 per cent higher than the NSPCC expected in the first year based on what happened after similar legislation was introduced in Scotland. A fifth of the cases involved children under 10.
The data has been revealed as part of The Daily Telegraph’s Duty of Care campaign, which calls on the Government to make social media and online gaming companies subject to a statutory duty to protect children from harms such as grooming, addiction and bullying.
Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, told The Telegraph: “These numbers are far higher than we had predicted, and every single sexual message from an adult to a child can have a huge impact for years to come. Social networks have been self-regulated for a decade and it’s absolutely clear that children have been harmed as a result.
“I urge Culture Secretary Matt Hancock to follow through on his promise and introduce safety rules backed up in law and enforced by an independent regulator with fining powers. Social networks must be forced to design extra protections for children into their platforms, including algorithms to detect grooming to prevent abuse from escalating.”
The figures were obtained under Freedom of Information laws by the NSPCC in advance of its annual report and conference this week on online safety, which Mr Hancock will address.
They show three apps accounted for 70 per cent of the cases. They were Facebook (29.5 per cent), Snapchat (20.2 per cent) and Instagram (19.9 per cent).
Apps owned by Facebook including Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Whatsapp were used in more than half the cases where a platform was disclosed by police.
Girls aged 12-15 were most likely to be targeted, with 62 per cent of cases. Under-11s were recorded as the victim in nearly a quarter. Many of the groomers were also charged with other offences including rape and sexual assault.
Mared Parry, from North Wales, was sent sexual messages from men 10 years older than her on Facebook when she was 14. Mared, who has waived her right to anonymity, was groomed to send semi-naked pictures to them. She said: “It could have gone a lot further.”