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Huge scale of online child
abuse images revealed
EXACTLY 2 years after the Prime
Minister urged industry to 'obliterate' child abuse images from the
internet, sex offenders are still being convicted at the rate of 2 a day for
possessing them.
An NSPCC snapshot has revealed the scale of the online child abuse problem, and
the challenges police forces face as offenders invent new ways to access the
vile trade.
New analysis by the NSPCC reveals that, since David Cameron called for action in
his crackdown speech, more than 4.5m images have been seized by police in 100
criminal cases taken to court.
Those convicted came from all walks of life but 1 in 3 held positions of trust,
or had roles that allowed them access to children. They included doctors,
teachers, Scout leaders, clergymen, police officers, a magician, and a Santa
Claus.
In the snapshot there were 101 offenders, including a father and son, and a
teenager who confessed to viewing such pictures from the age of 12. Only 2 of
those convicted were women.
The snapshot also included a teacher, 2 pensioners and an NHS worker from
Merseyside who were convicted of possessing indecent images of children, and a
man who was found in possession of 2,723 images and films of children, as well
as mothers abusing their children.
More than a ¼ were convicted of other sexual crimes, including:- grooming,
voyeurism, and indecent assault and 1 in 6 already had criminal records for
similar offences. Court cases also revealed how offenders were devising new ways
to share abuse, including live streaming the assault and rape of youngsters.
6 out of 10 were sent to prison. Others were given community orders or told to
do unpaid work.
During a keynote speech in July 2013 David Cameron promised law enforcement
agencies would be given more powers and challenged search engines to stamp out
the vile images that were hidden:- 'in the darkest corners of the internet.'
But despite the positive steps taken, an NSPCC analysis of national and local
reports shows there have been at least 1000 court cases involving offenders with
abuse images, which frequently show children being assaulted and raped.
The NSPCC estimates that the number of cases reaching court are just a fraction
of the overall level of offending with around 50,000 people in the UK thought to
be making and sharing the shocking images.
Claire Lilley, Head of Child Safety Online for the NSPCC, said:- "The
scale of the problem is shocking and even more so because of the number of
people who hold positions of trust in our communities. This is just a fragment
of the hundreds of other similar convictions during the same time.
It is a myth that there is no harm in just looking at these images. Defenceless
babies and children are being molested to feed the appetite of offenders, and
that demand is just not going away. The Prime Minister made a bold attempt to
tackle this problem, but it is clear that, 2 years after he called for a
crackdown, the scale of the problem is proving to be massive. We need urgent
action to prevent this horrendous abuse from appearing online."
A recent report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary showed that over
half of investigations into online child abuse are inadequate. |
