Children as young as NINE sexting naked snaps - 27th October 2016
Children as young as NINE sexting naked snaps amid fears they could fall into hands of paedophiles.
BY MARK BRANAGAN
Police warn youngsters their images could end up on social media or porn sites and say: 'Once you press send, it's gone'
West Yorkshire Police are trying to educate children about the dangers of sending nude selfies
Girls as young as nine are “sexting” naked snaps of themselves not realising the images could fall into the hands of sexual predators .
West Yorkshire Police say 121 cases of children sending nude selfies to each other were reported to them last year, including the case of a girl aged nine.
In the three months before March this year, the force had already logged 53 more incidents.
This week, officers have been patrolling patrol bus and train stations across the county to raise awareness among youngsters of Child Sexual Exploitation.
Once a photo has been sent to someone there's no telling where it might end up
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “If you share an image of yourself online by photo, text or video, via your phone, tablet or computer always think first ‘Would I be OK with anyone and everyone seeing this?’
“Any image of yourself that you send, can and might be shared by the person you sent it to. Once you press send, it is no longer in your control.
“If you share a ‘nude’ or ‘underwear shot’ even with someone you trust, you are not able to control who they forward it to or where they save it.
"It can be sent on to anyone or posted anywhere on the internet. It could end up on social networking sites or even porn sites.
Children as young as nine are sexting
“You should never feel pressured to send an image of yourself to anyone. Think about why someone would want you to do this.
"Once they have your image, they have it forever and could even use it against you.
“Being involved in sending explicit pictures, where the person in the picture is under the age of 18, can be a criminal offence.
“This could lead to you getting into trouble with the police, affect your chances of getting a job and even limit the countries that you can travel to.”
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