A 14-year-old has become the youngest person in Britain convicted for ‘revenge porn’ after selling nude photos of his ex-girlfriend – for £10.
Child safety groups have called for more sex education after the teen used Facebook to flog images of the 15-year-old girl.
He had 170 indecent images of the victim and was preparing to distribute a lot more than the two he was convicted of before he was caught, a court heard.
Following the case, youngsters have been warned that such behaviour was not “banter” but is a serious criminal offence.
The youth court in Plymouth, Devon, heard the victim had sent the defendant photographs of herself during their relationship.
After they had broken up, she told police she had seen a Facebook message between two defendants where photos of her had been sold.
Police then seized her ex-boyfriend’s laptop, desktop and phone.
The second defendant, aged 15 at the time, said his friend had accidentally sent him an image of the girl and he asked for more.
He paid ?10 and put them in a locked file on his computer.
Prosecutor Andrea Parsons said the girl did not realise she was doing anything wrong in sending the pictures.
She said: “When the relationship ended she asked that [he] destroy the photographs.
“It turned out the photos were then passed on to [the defendant’s friend] for a small sum of money.”
The boy who sent the pictures, now aged 16, was charged with two counts of distributing photographs of a child, as well as one count of possession of 24 images of a child within category A with a view to them being distributed or shown to another.
He was also charged with three counts of making indecent photographs of a child – 43 photographs within category A, 17 within category B and 112 within category C.
He was also charged with possession of indecent photographs of children – 24 within category A and 13 images within category B.
The boy who received the pictures, now 17, faced two charges of possessing indecent photographs of a child – three within category A and 22 in category C.
Both defendants were given 12 month referral orders and must pay £100 in costs and a victim surcharge.
The court also ordered the electronic items were destroyed.
Following the case, an internet safety expert has said there needs to be more education for young people to understand that something described as ‘banter’ might actually be a serious crime.
Andy Phippen, professor of social responsibility in IT at Plymouth University, said it is “encouraging” the case went to court as it shows the victim felt she could come forward.
He said: “The fact there was money exchanged, the volume of images and that she was an ex-girlfriend indicates some malice in this case.
“It’s encouraging it has gone to court. Most incidents like this the victim wouldn’t have thought to complain. It’s encouraging the victim has taken it to court and that they can feel like they can come forward.
“The fact is young people are unlikely to get much education around this sort of thing, but you need to reflect on whether this is an acceptable thing to do.
“It’s that ‘banter’ word which is always banded around. But it’s not banter – you have got a victim who is upset and harmed.
“There is definitely some naivety here – but that money was involved and the number of images suggests it was much more calculated.
“Giving them referral orders is sensible, but if they do it again they will be hit like a ton of bricks.”
Ken Corish, online safety director at South West Grid for Learning, said: “While it is an offence for you to take an image of yourself to share with a partner, the law was made to protect children not criminalise them.
“If you are under 18 and take an indecent selfie you also need to be reminded you’re generating indecent images.
“A few years ago this was a big issue for police officers but the Association of Chief Police Officers released a guide – a child who sexts should in the first instance be treated in the same way as a victim.
“It’s a very different picture in the US where children are taking pictures of themselves and going through the criminal courts, some ending up on the sex offenders register at the age of 14 for taking pictures of themselves.
“This sort of thing has always happened before the internet but it just hasn’t had the same sort of platform – it’s part of young people and how they develop.
“The majority of sexting images are shared intimately and are not shared beyond that. But it goes deeper – it’s all about self-esteem, not being swayed by the media and having a positive body image.”
