Leering over snaps of girls

DOZENS of the images the BBC reported to Facebook were stolen pictures of ordinary teenagers circulated by paedophiles.

They featured pubescent girls in ‘highly sexualised poses’, often partly naked or arranging themselves provocatively while wearing school uniform. In one image, two teenage girls are seen hugging whilst they are almost naked. In another, a pubescent girl is pictured in an ill-fitting pink trainer bra.

The teenagers appear to have posed willingly for the pictures – but with no idea of how they would be used.

Instead of being shared among their friends, they were hijacked by groups of predatory men who use Facebook groups to share their taste for under-age girls.

There they leave obscene comments about the teenagers, and some openly discussed sharing more serious child abuse material.

One of the most extreme pictures deemed acceptable by Facebook appeared to be a freeze-frame from a child abuse video. It was published alongside a request to share ‘child pornography’.