The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Current affairsNews

424 children a year abused online and blackmailed

424 children a year abused online and blackmailed
20 September 2013
Aastha Gill
Avatar
Aastha Gill
20 September 2013

Children as young as eight are being abused and blackmailed online by paedophiles, a new research by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) has revealed today.

Ceop said hundreds of children are being targeted by internet blackmailers who force youngsters to film themselves performing sex acts or self-mutilation because they fear having their naked pictures sent to their families.

In the last two years, 424 children have been blackmailed and driven to self-harm and suicide by their abusers of which 184 cases are from the UK.

Experts say the abusers generally operate behind fake profiles and pseudo usernames on social networking sites and chat forums.

The perpetrators pretend to be children themselves and start with a friendly chat with their victims. They later persuade youngsters to join private forums and chat rooms, tricking children into posting compromising pictures of themselves. Later, these cyber bullies demand their victims to perform sex acts and threaten them with their pictures going public.  

Cases show children have been forced to film themselves on webcams going naked, writing degrading statements on their bodies and even cutting themselves for the tricksters’ pleasure.

Commenting on the findings, the deputy chief executive of Ceop, Andy Baker said: “These offenders are cowards. They hide behind a screen, and in many cases make hollow threats which they know they will never act on because by sharing these images it will only bring the police closer to them.”

The report reveals one small ring of paedophiles overseas pressured more than 300 children, including 96 from Britain, into performing sex acts online. 

Figures show that seven victims have committed suicide over blackmail, including a 17-year-old British teenager, Daniel Perry from Dunfermline in Fife, who died on 15th July after being tricked into thinking he was talking to an American girl online.

Experts believe that British children are easier targets due to the accessibility of the English language and the foreign perception of UK society as liberal and open minded.

In a message to the offenders, Mr Baker said: “We will come after you. You aren’t beyond our reach. Click by click you are drawing us closer, every time you share an image, you draw us closer.”

The NSPCC has set up a 24-hour helpline (0800 328 0904) for children and adults who are worried about such blackmail. Abuse can be also reported to Ceop at www.ceop.police.uk.  

Aastha Gill

Related Items

More in Current Affairs

Changes to expect during menopause

The editorial unit
Read More

Nek brings Italian pop rock to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire

The editorial unit
Read More

Why Equity Linked Savings Schemes is a preferred tax saving?

The editorial unit
Read More

How the world’s top designers would rebrand political parties

The editorial unit
Read More

Royal baby furore: Proof that the British monarchy is still popular?

Eoin O’Sullivan-Harris
Read More

World Mental Health Day 2018: Raising awareness and combating stigma

The editorial unit
Read More

Seven political personalities you should know about

The editorial unit
Read More

Donald Trump: An enemy of the arts?

The editorial unit
Read More

Trump’s fortune: Where did the money come from?

The editorial unit
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher
    Theatre
  • Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Capote Tapes
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Dig
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Crobar: Music When the Lights Go Out
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • Assassins: Exclusive new clip
    Cinema
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Uncategorised
  • Schemers
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Uncategorised
  • Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Egyptian forces clash with militants outside Cairo
European and UN diplomats clash with Israel over aid to the West Bank