Boy, 14,‘branded a paedophile’ by police for texting naked selfie to schoolgirl

Mother’s fury as son is put on sex crime database for 100 years

A BOY of 14 has been put on a police database for sending a naked selfie to a teenage girl on Snapchat.

Last night the boy’s mother accused police of branding her son a paedophile and treating him as ‘worse than a criminal’ after it emerged that details of the incident will remain on record for 100 years.

The civil servant said her son was the victim of a ‘grave injustice’ after the girl humiliated him by sharing the image with his classmates. Instead of protecting the ‘naive’ youngster from his foolish actions, a senior teacher bullied him into confessing to sending an indecent image, she alleged.

A school-based WPC was summoned and logged details of the incident as a crime because the image was of someone under the age of 18.

Although the promising student was not arrested and faces no charges, his hopes of a career could be blighted as the information could remain on the Police National Database for 100 years, flagging up his involve- ment in a ‘child sex crime’ to potential employers. The girl involved in the ‘sexting’ incident and a second boy will also have their details kept on the database for life.

The boy took the image of himself, naked from the waist down, in his bedroom and sent it via Snapchat, believing it would automatically be deleted within seconds. But the girl he was trying to impress quickly copied the image and shared it. A friend warned him the next day.

Teaching staff were alerted and the boy was questioned by the assistant head teacher, while the WPC took detailed notes.

It was only after this meeting, during which he admitted everything after the teacher allegedly shouted in his face, that his mother was informed.

Greater Manchester Police discontinued their investigation ‘in the public interest’ but all the details were entered into the system. These records could now be revealed to employers under a Disclosure and Barring Service check if years down the line he were to seek a job working with children.

The boy’s mother, who is in her 40s and lives in the Greater Manchester area, vowed last night to fight to clear his name.

‘If he was 18 he would have been seen as a victim in the eyes of the law and would have been able to take some action towards the girl who humiliated him,’ she said.

‘What has happened to him has seriously affected his life chances. Do we now narrow his horizons so that he does not consider a career that requires enhanced checks? Without any doubt this is a grave injustice. He has been treated worse than a criminal.’

She said she was astonished when the police officer first called.

‘She kept referring to sex crimes,’ the mother said. ‘But if he had not admitted it – which he only did with a senior member of staff in his face – they would have had nothing. Where was the appropriate adult for my son? Who was there for him?

‘My son was not given the same protections that a criminal would have been given. He has learned a really harsh lesson but the way it has been dealt with is all wrong.’

When the mother complained about how her son had been treated, she claims the officer told her ‘You could make matters worse’ and said the boy could be added to the Sex Offenders’ Register. Speak- ing to Radio 4’s Today programme, the mother said: ‘I think at best he was naive and at worst he was just a teenager. It is referred to as sexting, and apparently it happens all the time. It is just how teenagers flirt these days.’

Greater Manchester Police said it was recording the crime in accordance with strict national standards and Home Office rules.

A spokesman said: ‘The report of crime has been filed with the three children involved named and given an outcome of not in the public interest to prosecute. These reports remain in existence for 100 years in accordance with Management of Police Information.’

The case highlights how thousands of youngsters could be criminalised by exchanging explicit selfies. One study estimated that more than four in ten British girls aged 13 to 17 had sent a pornographic photograph of themselves.

Anne Longfield, children’s commissioner for England, said more must be done to alert children to the dangers of sexting.

Lawyers fear many young people are becoming caught up in criminal inquiries as a result of the sexting epidemic. In some cases they are enduring investigations of up to two years during their formative years or crucial exams.