Children 'abused every eight minutes' in England and Wales as recorded sex offences hit record high

Children are being sexually abused every eight minutes in England and Wales, according to new figures showing recorded offences at an all-time high.

Of almost 65,000 offences recorded in 2016-17, around 200 were committed against babies less than a year old.

The “abhorrent” crimes include rape, sexual assault and grooming, but children’s charities fear the true figure is far higher because not all incidents are being reported to police.

The record figures were revealed after two of the UK’s most prolific paedophiles were jailed for a combined total of 62 years.

Barry Bennell, a former football coach, had been convicted of abusing children as young as eight, and academic Matthew Falder became the target of an international intelligence operation after blackmailing children into sending “depraved” images online.

The NSPCC said the dramatic rise in recorded offences was partly down to survivors coming forward in the wake of high-profile cases and police improving the way crimes are recorded.

But the charity warned that paedophiles and groomers were increasingly able to reach hundreds of children online, with one in 10 alleged offences now involving the internet.

Figures obtained by a freedom of information request found police recorded 64,667 child sex offences in 2016-17 – 15 per cent up on the previous year.

A total of 13,876 crimes were recorded against children younger than 11, while 2,788 were allegedly perpetrated against children aged four and under.

Analysts cautioned that the total number of sex offences committed against children remains unknown, as victims may not have come forward out of fear or embarrassment, or even realise they have been abused.

Testimonies from Childline

Girl, 11 and under

I was playing an online game when someone I didn’t know started sending me rude messages saying they wanted to have sex with me. The things they said were horrible and disgusting and I made me feel scared. I blocked them but it was really scary.

Girl, 10

My mum’s boyfriend used to be really nice to me, but now he makes me play games with me that make me feel sad. He tells me it’s a secret game and makes me promise that I won’t tell anyone. In the games he has sex with me. It happens when my mum’s out of the house. Every time he promises that he won’t do it again but he always does. If I tell my mum about it she’ll hate both of us.

Girl, 11 and under

At night time my dad makes me watch strange videos. I don’t know what they are, but the people in them have no clothes on and they make me feel upset. Dad tells me to keep it a secret and that he loves me. I try and make him turn the videos off but he doesn’t listen to me. He would go mad if I told anybody about it.

Boy, 11 and under

My dad’s been touching me in private places. He does it when I visit his house at the weekend. Mum and dad have been having problems, so I don’t want to tell her because it will upset her. I’ve told him to stop but he doesn’t, I just want to make him stop.

Craig Thorley, a policy and public affairs manager at the NSPCC, believes a combination of increased reporting, better recording and a real-world increase in online offences is behind the rise.

“The frequency and complexity of crimes involving the internet is increasing,” he told The Independent.

“The figures do suggest that police are upping their game and better recording a lot of these incidents when they come to light.

“We are calling on the Government to increase resources available to police for training to combat these crimes before they happen.”

Mr Thorley said authorities “must not think of abuse as inevitable” and do their utmost to stop year-on-year increases in recorded crimes.

Among the children reporting abuse in the period was Sam, who had been abused by a cousin in his fifties when he was just 11 years old.

The relative promised to arrange for Sam to meet a well-known athlete on an overnight trip but the empty promise was a means to get the boy alone.

“I buried it the moment it happened,” he recalled. “I should have gone home and told my parents but I didn’t and life went on as normal. I thought it was easier to put it to the back of my mind which I did very effectively.

“It was around Christmas last year that I felt that I’d had enough. I thought to myself, you’re half way through your life if you’re lucky and you need to do something to change the next 50 years so it doesn’t feel like the last 50.”

Sam called the NSPCC Helpline, who helped him to contact police. The case went to court and Sam’s abuser was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

“I want people to begin to put an end to their own personal torment and to take steps that put perpetrators behind bars and protect society,” he said.

Another man found the strength to report his father for abusing him from the age of seven years old after undergoing years of counselling.

“I didn’t understand it at the time and, at that age I didn’t know that it was wrong,” Craig said.

“I self-harmed between the ages of nine and 11 as a way of crying out for help. I remember that I cut my whole head open with a razor blade. The abuse was at its worst at that that time.”

The physical abuse stopped when Craig was 15 but he continued to be “manipulative”, forcing his son to live the pretence of a normal life until he “hit rock bottom” in his twenties and received counselling.

He described going to police as “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life”, but finally felt closure seeing his father sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.

“My life is wonderful now,” said Craig, who is married with two children. “I put my energy into giving my children the childhood that I never had.”

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NPCC, said the latest figures show how extensive child sexual abuse is.

“These abhorrent crimes can shatter a child’s life, leaving them to feel humiliated, depressed, or even suicidal,” he added.

“That is why it is crucial every single child who has endured abuse and needs support must get timely, thorough help so they can learn to rebuild their lives.”