Naked pictures sent by adult to one child in every classroom

UK primary school probe reveals grooming threat

ONE child in every primary school classroom in the UK has been sent a naked picture by an adult, a shocking report published by a child protection group has found.

The survey by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) also found that one in 50 children aged under the age of 11 has sent an adult a nude image of themselves, research by the charity has found.

Some of those coerced into sharing naked pictures were as young as seven, the NSPCC has revealed. Perverts are known to use online games and mobile phone apps to target youngsters. One young girl, aged nine, said: ‘A complete stranger asked me to take my clothes off and send him a picture... When I deleted the game, I went on another site and the same person asked me to have sex with him, I told him to “back off” and then deleted that game.’

She later came across the same predator on several sites.

However, in an example of an increasingly sexualised society, even at primary school age, some youngsters admitted to sharing naked or semi-nude images with fellow classmates.

When they asked why, horrified investigators were told by young girls: ‘Because everyone does.’

Children polled by the NSPCC were asked whether an adult had ever sent or shown them a naked or semi-naked picture or video on an app, site or game.

Of those polled, 791 primary school children and 959 secondary school pupils answered yes.

Previous British police statistics have revealed that games such as Minecraft and an app similar to Scrabble, Words with Friends, had both been used for grooming.

Parents have also spoken out about predators online trying to lure their children into carrying out explicit acts through the chat function on video game Fortnite.

As well as strangers using online platforms to groom children, young people have also told of how they had received images from adults they know. One boy aged between 14 and 15 said: ‘My coach sent me a video of Santa stripping naked.’

The NSPCC has released these latest figures as part of its campaign, which calls on the British government to regulate the ‘Wild West Web’.

The charity believes an that independent regulator should be set-up to bring the Web giants to heel and that they should be forced to follow a mandatory code of conduct.

Here, the Oireachtas Communications Committee has urged Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Communications Minister Denis Naughten to press ahead with legislation to introduce a Digital Safety Commissioner as soon as the Dáil resumes in September. Peter Wanless, the NSPCC’s chief executive in the UK, warned that grooming has now become ‘normalised’ – with children being asked to send explicit pictures while innocently playing against their friends online.

‘Social networks have become a gateway for child abuse,’ Mr Wanless said.

He added: ‘Grooming can no longer be shrugged off as secondary to other online crimes. It is happening now, it is happening to very young children, it is happening so frequently that it’s becoming normalised, and it is not only coming from adult strangers, but also from known adults. Social networks have become a gateway for child abuse.’

There was widespread horror earlier this year when a court in Dublin heard how 26-year-old paedophile Matt Horan had used social media to groom two primary schoolgirls, who he got to send him graphic sexual pictures and videos of themselves.

The Dubliner duped – and even blackmailed – victims using popular apps Skype, Snapchat, Instagram and the anonymous messaging service Kik.