Youngsters only 10 years old are suspected of sending revenge porn, shocking figures revealed. A Freedom of Investigation request to West Midlands Police revealed that the force had investigated 75 offenders aged 18 and under during 2021.
In five cases the suspects were between 10 and 12, and two were girls. There were 17 in the 13-15 age bracket and 53 aged 16 to 18. But only five of all those accused of revenge porn crimes - or 6.6% - had any further action taken against them, accirding to Birmingham Live.
"Evidential difficulties preventing further action" meant the vast number of cases were not progressed by the force last year and other cases also saw the issue being passed for action by another body or completed by a way of a "community resolution." Some were also dropped through no victim support of the investigation.
Read more: The nine most common driving offences and what the penalties are
Revenge porn is leaking intimate images and videos of victims online or offline, without their consent. West Midlands Police said it is "illegal to distribute a private sexual image of someone without their consent and with the intention of causing them distress."
It can include images posted to social networking including Facebook and Twitter, shared via text message or shown in person. In total, across all age groups, there were 652 reports of the crime made to West Midlands Police in 2021. It was more than double the 319 cases in 2020, while 150 were reported as crimes in 2018. In 2020, the force probed 83 youth suspects for sending revenge porn.
Read more:
- 'A lovely man, with a warm heart' – Tributes as former Gosforth councillor dies after cancer battle
- Whitley Bay's Empress Ballroom £3m redevelopment work to finally get under way
- Warning as fraudsters use summer holidays and festival events to scam people
- DWP mistake means 40,000 surviving families may be owed thousands from parents' pension
- Road is opening up to allow self-driving cars on UK roads
