A sting carried out by Dutch child protection agency Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TDHN), has highlighted the extent of the problem of webcam child sexual exploitation, reports the Guardian.
Over a ten week period agency researchers posed on chatrooms as a ten year old Filipina girl called Sweetie, and were apparently approached by around 20,000 people who offered cash for the performance of sexual acts by Sweetie on webcam.
During the investigation, researchers were able to ascertain the real names and addresses of around 1,000 of those who made approaches. Over 100 of them were based in the UK, with 254 appearing to be based in the USA. The details of the Britons alleged to be implicated have been passed to Interpol for further investigation, says the Guardian.
Writing in the foreward to a report on the research, Albert Jaap van Santbrink & Hans Guijt of TDHN said that most law enforcement agencies around the world implement “reactive” investigation policies when it comes to investigating online child sexual exploitation, and do not take action until a crime is actually reported.
"Reactive policies are outdated and do not adequately confront the vast demand for newer forms of commercial child exploitation," they said, and called on more proactive investigation in order to tackle the problem.
Sexual offences such as those mentioned here undoubtedly fall into a sensitive area of law. Allegations of sexual offences can be difficult to defend because of the public attention they attract, while the nature of the crimes can mean that it is the claimant’s word against the defendants. The impact of an allegation of a sexual offence can also be devastating. As such, it’s important to contact solicitors who are experienced in defending such claims.
Contact Lewis Nedas’ Criminal Lawyers in London
If you have been charged with a sexual offence and require specialist criminal defence advice please contact our solicitors Jeffrey Lewis or Siobhain Egan on 020 7387 2032 or complete our online enquiry form here.
This blog post is intended as a news item only - no connection between Lewis Nedas and the parties concerned is intended or implied.
