Online sex offences in Warwickshire double in the space of a year - The Leamington Observer

Online sex offences in Warwickshire double in the space of a year

Leamington Editorial 5th Sep, 2020   0

ONLINE child sex offences in Warwickshire have more than doubled in a year, new figures have revealed.

New data collected by the NSPCC reveals offences recorded by Warwickshire Police increased from 75 in 2018-19 to 114 in 2019-20.

The neighbouring West Midlands force saw a seven per cent rise, from 398 to 427.

Across the Midlands and nationally, the rise was 16 per cent.




The offences include crimes that have a cyber element such as grooming, sexual assault and rape.

While the Freedom of Information data does not include the lockdown period, the NSPCC says risks to children online increased and Childline counselling sessions on grooming went up.


The charity is calling on the Government to publish its final plans for the Online Harms Bill – which would place a legal Duty of Care on tech firms to protect children – before the end of the year, and pass it into law by the end of 2021.

Andy Burrows, NSPCC Head of Child Safety Online Policy, said: “These figures suggest that online abuse was already rising before lockdown, and the risks to children appear to have spiked significantly since.

“It is now almost 17 months since the Government’s original proposals for social media regulation were published and children continue to face preventable harm online.

“At the Hidden Harms Summit, the Prime Minister signalled he was determined to act. That’s why he needs to prioritise making progress on a comprehensive Online Harms Bill this Autumn, and pass legislation by the end of 2021, that sees tech firms held criminally and financially accountable if they put children at risk.”

The charity revealed how Olivia’s daughter Emma – whose names have been changed to protect their anonymity – was groomed and sexually exploited through an online game called Movie Star Planet from when she was just six years old.

The abuser gained her trust then threatened her into sending him and other adults sexually explicit images and committing sexual acts for two years.

Olivia said: “He would threaten to expose her if she didn’t do as she was told, that he would even put her in a ‘shallow grave’ or kill us, her parents.

“As she got older – she is now 14 – she began to struggle. Her behaviour changed, she became angry, depressed and would cry without really knowing why.

“She found it incredibly hard to make herself go into school and would ring me in tears, not knowing why she couldn’t go through the door.

“It was horrible, I felt so helpless when she talked about self-harming and not wanting to go on living.”

The NSPCC has been campaigning for a Duty of Care on tech firms since the launch of its Wild West Web campaign in 2018.

The Government published the Online Harms White Paper in April 2019 but has not yet produced the final consultation response.

The charity previously published a set of set of regulatory proposals setting out how social media regulation should work, called Taming the Wild West Web.

At the end of the month, it will set out further proposals explaining what powers an independent regulator would need to protect children online.

Adults concerned about a child online can contact the NSPCC Helpline confidentially for advice and support by emailing [email protected] or calling 0808 800 5000.

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