As a parent, this story scares me profusely. Not only could our kids become manipulated by a sexual predator, into doing something they don’t really want to, but now it seems they can get into trouble for doing so!
A 12-year-old UK girl who was pressured into sending a topless photo of herself to a Pedophile has reportedly been told she could face a child sex charge.
Child exploitation officers have warned the schoolgirl that she could end up with a criminal record after her mother learned that she was being groomed online and contacted police.
The paedophile who coerced the girl into sending the picture has not yet been found, The Sunday Mirror has reported.
The culprit was said to have been using an anonymous Instagram account to bombard the girl with explicit messages and requests for pictures.
The girl initially refused but later caved in to the pressure and sent an image from her iPad, before ending the conversation as the demands grew more obscene.
The girls mother later discovered the messages and contacted the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, part of the National Crime Agency(NCA), which advised her to report them to the police.
Police officers interviewed the girl, who lives in the south of England, and took the iPad for examination.
A CEOP officer then later contacted the girl’s mother and warned her that her daughter could face a criminal record.
Creating or sharing explicit images of a child is illegal, even if the person doing so is a young person sending a picture of themselves, he said.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she told The Sunday Mirror. “How can the victim end up with a criminal record? She’s a young, innocent girl who has made a big, big mistake.”
She added: “She’s the victim. She was coerced into sending it. There’s a paedophile out there yet they’re talking about criminalising a little girl. She’s scared, upset, worrying about what is going to happen and I’m questioning if I did the right thing in reporting it.
“My child is a victim of grooming but now she might be branded a criminal. If this is happening it could put other parents off reporting abuse. How many people actually knew this was the law?”
The girl is now waiting to learn whether or not she will face charges as the police investigation goes on.
A spokesman for the NCA says it always “puts victim care and safeguarding of children and young persons first and foremost.”
They added that: “In this instance we understand the child sent an image of herself to another person. If a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police must record a crime, in line with Home Office Counting Rules, and investigate.
“They have discretion not to take formal action if it isn’t in the public interest to do so. Police are encouraged to take a common sense approach that does not criminalise children unnecessarily.”
Scary!
What are your thoughts on this?