Parents think their children are safe. At home, in their own bedrooms, with loving families around them, how could they possibly fall victim to sexual predators?
But there is an open door into children’s lives. Criminals are reaching out and ensnaring their victims with nothing more than an internet connection. It can happen in any home.
This new bonus episode of the Pixels from a Crime Scene podcast from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) throws a spotlight on the growing threat of “self-generated child sexual abuse material” where children have been groomed and coerced by adult perpetrators into performing sexually over webcams. This bonus episode takes a look at the phenomenon with interviews from police and investigators, experts, victims, and the analysts trying to get this material off the internet.
Police experts talk candidly about the investigation into King’s Lynn roofer David Wilson who was, last year, jailed after posing as teenage girls online to extort sexual images of victims and their friends and siblings.
The episode also delves into the motivations and psychology of perpetrators, as well as from a survivor of abuse who talks about the impact of this kind of coercion on victims.
The fight to get child sexual abuse material removed from the internet is a global one, and the podcast also looks at some of the technological breakthroughs which are helping in the fight to keep the internet safe.
If you haven't listened to the first six episodes of Pixels from a Crime Scene we strongly recommend starting at episode one.
Find out more and donate at iwf.org.uk/donate