Source: National Crime Agency (NCA) published on this website Monday 17 March 2025 by Jill Powell

A man from Northamptonshire who blackmailed a child into sending him further indecent images by threatening to send them to her family and friends has been sentenced.

Kevin Newson, 43, from Daventry, was arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency after authorities in America were approached by a 16-year-old child. She said Newson had contacted her via online messaging platforms and asked her to send indecent images in late 2019 and early 2020.

Newson told her he would send money for the images, sending a screenshot of his UK bank account. The victim sent images of herself to him but declined to send more when Newson requested them.

He then threatened to send the images he already had to her family members, friends and school if she did not send further images.

Newson was arrested by the NCA in June 2022 and when officers reviewed his phone, they discovered one Category B indecent video and 14 extreme images.

Chat logs between the victim and Newson were downloaded from the victim's device, which also showed his online profile containing an image of himself.

Newson answered no comment to all questions put to him at interview.

He was charged and appeared at Northampton Crown Court on 10 February, pleading guilty to blackmail and causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child. Charges of making an indecent image of a child and possessing extreme pornographic images will lie on file.

He was sentenced to two years and four months imprisonment at the same court today. He will also be subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Phil Eccles, Senior Investigating Officer from the NCA said:

"Kevin Newson groomed his victim into believing they were friends. But when she sent indecent images as Newson requested, he blackmailed her into sending more by threatening to send them to her family, friends and school.

"Newson thought the distance between him and his victim would mean his abuse would be able to continue without detection, but with thanks to our US partners and the tenacity of our investigators, his crimes have been uncovered.

"The NCA will continue in our fight to bring criminals like Newson to justice and pursue offenders like him who are involved in the abuse of children."

Advice for victims under 18:

• Increase privacy settings to restrict who can make contact with you or your online contacts.
• Don't pay, stop contact and block: you may be tempted to pay, but there is no guarantee that this will stop the threats. As the offender's motive is to get money, once you have shown you can pay, they will likely ask for more and the blackmail may continue. If you have paid, don't panic, but don't pay anything more. Stop all communication with the offender and block them on any accounts you have been contacted on.
• You are not to blame: A lot of victims feel responsible but this is absolutely not the case; you are not to blame and help and support is available.
• Avoid deleting anything: try not to delete anything that could be used as evidence such as messages, images and bank account details.

Advice for parents and carers:

• Talk to your child about FMSE: this will help to remove the stigma associated to this type of criminality. To support you, visit the CEOP Education website where there are a number of helpful resources.
• Report to the police: call 101 or 999 if there is an immediate risk of harm to your child.
• Report any images or videos that have been shared: if your child's image or video has been shared without their consent and they are under 18, help them to take the following 3 steps:
  • Report Remove: a tool from Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation. Your child can use this to remove images that have been shared or might be shared.
  • Take It Down: a tool from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Your child can use this to remove or stop the online sharing of images or videos.
  • Report it to the platform or app that the incident has occurred on. For advice on how to report to major social media platforms, visit Internet Matters.

Source: South Wales Police published on this website Thursday 13 March 2025 by Jill Powell

A former Bishop from Swansea has been jailed after pleading guilty to multiple child sex offences.

Anthony Pierce, 84, from Swansea Vale, pleaded guilty – at Swansea Crown Court on Friday, February 7, 2025 – to five counts of indecent assault on a child under the age of 16.

He has today been sentenced to four years and one month in prison. Upon release, he will be made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He will be on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Inspector Sharon Gill-Lewis said:

“I commend the bravery of the victim in reporting Anthony Pierce’s actions, which was instrumental in helping bring him to justice.

“I would also like to pay tribute to Detective Constable Sioned Davies, whose work during this investigation was so important in bringing Anthony Pierce’s offending to light.

"South Wales Police takes all reports of sexual assault seriously and urges victims to come forward to report it - regardless of when it happened – safe in the knowledge that they will be treated with respect and dignity and that their allegation will be fully investigated.”

For information and a supporting guide on reporting sexual offences, see here: Report rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences | South Wales Police

To get help and support regarding rape, sexual assault and other offences, see here: Rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences | South Wales Police

Source: UK Mission to the WTO, UN and other international organisations (Geneva) published on this website Friday 14 March 2025 by Jill Powell

The UK Government’s Statement to the Special Rapporteur said:

“The UK supports the Special Rapporteur’s urgent call for decisive action to eradicate child sexual exploitation and abuse.

“The Secretary-General’s 2024 Report highlights a 25% rise in sexual violence against children in conflict. This is unacceptable – urgent action is required.

“Special Rapporteur, we welcome your report’s focus on impunity and stress. Where credible evidence of widespread sexual exploitation and abuse exists, entire contingents must be repatriated, and financial disincentive mechanisms should be used.

“Individuals credibly implicated in sexual exploitation and abuse must not be reassigned to peacekeeping missions. We urge the Secretariat to work with Member States to strengthen pre-deployment vetting.

“To combat the challenge of under-reporting, reporting mechanisms must be accessible, confidential and child friendly. All allegations, especially involving children, must be handled seriously. Investigations by Troop and Police Contributing Countries must be prompt and transparent, with clear updates on outcomes to ensure perpetrators face justice.

“Even in this financial climate, tackling sexual exploitation and abuse remains essential. We must find efficiencies and streamline approaches to deliver this work effectively.

“Thank you.”

Source: Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) published on this website Wednesday 12 march 2025 by Jill Powell

Child protection analysts have seen a significant rise in reports from children accessing the world-leading Report Remove service run by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the NSPCC’s Childline service.

Hailed by one parent as a ‘game-changer’, the tool allows anyone under 18 in the UK to anonymously report sexual images and videos of themselves on the internet.

The surge in use also comes at a time when the ‘ruthless’ sexual extortion of children shows no sign of abating.

The new data from IWF show that 1,142 reports were submitted to Report Remove and assessed by analysts in 2024, a 44% increase on the year before.

Of these, the IWF – the UK’s hotline dedicated to finding and removing child sexual abuse imagery online – actioned 642 reports (56%) that contained criminal child sexual abuse content. This is also a rise when compared with 508 reports from 2023 (26%).

Reports ‘actioned’ by the IWF are confirmed as containing images and/or videos of child sexual abuse according to UK law. Children can report both webpages that contain their sexual image or the individual images and videos themselves via the Report Remove service. IWF analysts can then take steps to block and take down any criminal webpages and imagery.

A parent of a sexual extortion victim has told the IWF that being able to use the Report Remove service was a ‘game changer’ for his family. He said: “My 16-year-old son woke us up after midnight last year in a hysterical state, after being targeted online.

“Once we reassured him that he was not in trouble, we took steps to try and manage the situation and deal with it the best we could. One of these steps was to use the Report Remove tool and get his image uploaded so that the IWF could get it removed online. 

“This was a game-changer for us, in the difference that it made to how we felt. It gave us piece of mind that we had been able to do something to stop the blackmailers.”

The IWF reviews all submissions to Report Remove and works swiftly to ensure sexual images of children are removed.

Children using this tool can also talk to a Childline counsellor if they want any extra support, or access support on the Childline website.

Actioned reports of sexual imagery were highest among 14 to 15 year olds (48%) on Report Remove but analysts are also seeing imagery from a growing number of 11 to 13 year olds, with a 431% increase in reports compared with 2023. Children aged between 16 and 17 are the second largest group with 262 reports.

The IWF has also released ‘concerning’ sexual extortion figures that show predators continue to target children online for sexual imagery. 

IWF analysts actioned 175 instances of sexual extortion in 2024, most of which came via the Report Remove tool (86%). The remaining instances were found through proactive searching by the IWF Hotline.

The total figure remains virtually unchanged from 2023. The NCA issued an unprecedented alert that went out to all secondary schools in the UK in April 2024 to raise awareness of the crime.

There are also signs that the age of children reporting sexual extortion via Report Remove is getting younger, as analysts are seeing sexual extortion imagery from 11- to 13-year-olds for the first time.

In cases of sexual extortion, children are often tricked into believing they are engaging with a peer online and persuaded to share nude images and videos. Once the blackmailer has what they want, they swiftly turn nasty and threaten the child, warning that they will share the image widely unless the child provides more sexual images and videos or money. 

The impact on a child can be devastating. Often the offenders threaten to make it appear as if the child was a perpetrator of a crime, rather than a victim, which creates further harm and pressure.

Adults can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or via help@nspcc.org.uk and Childline is always confidentially available for children and young people on 0800 1111 or at childline.org.uk. 

Children who are being threatened online are given the following advice:

1. Report what has happened. You can do this by contacting your local police on 101 or making a report to the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Safety Centre, where a Child Protection Advisor will make sure you get the help you need. Always call 999 if you are in immediate danger.
2. If you’re not ready to make a report to the police or feel worried about what might happen, you can speak to understanding and non-judgemental people at Childline. You don’t need to give your name or details.
3. If you have copies of the images, videos, or links to the website where images or videos may be shown, you can use an online tool called Report Remove. Report Remove is here to help young people, under 18, in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and the IWF will then try to have them removed from the internet. Once you’ve used Report Remove, you will also be able to talk to a trained Childline counsellor, who will have provided support to other children and young people in the same situation.
4. Stop all contact with anyone who is trying to blackmail or threaten. Do not share any more images or videos or pay any money of any sort. If you have been communicating on an app, there should be in-built tools to block and report the user.
5. Finally, remember - this is not your fault. The person trying to blackmail or sexually extort you is the one who is in the wrong. Lots of other young people have been in a similar situation. If you're feeling upset and need to talk to someone, you can get in touch with Childline.