Get the facts
Objectives
This module aims to educate you on the following:
- What the law says about online sexual behaviour involving children
- The criminal justice system: from arrest to possible imprisonment
- Potential consequences to you and your family
This section is here to educate you on the facts about the online offences listed below.
You need to ensure that you understand the law, so that you know what is right and wrong (even if you believe otherwise) and that you understand that being caught by the police will come with many consequences, not just the possibility of going to prison.
Indecent images of children
The term ‘indecent images of a children’ means a sexual image of anyone under the age of 18. It includes:
- nude or partially clothed children
- children sexually posing
- self-generated images by children (‘selfies’)
- images depicting children engaging in both penetrative and non-penetrative sexual activity
This definition applies to still images, videos and pseudo-photographs (an image that appears to be a photograph and that may have been created by a computer).
‘Indecent images of children’ is the legal term for these types of images, and this website will also refer to ‘sexual images of children’.
Sexual communication with a child
The term ‘sexual communication with a child’ refers to an adult intentionally communicating with someone under the age of 16 for the purposes of sexual gratification.
The section on UK law will provide more information about these different behaviours, and other associated illegal online sexual behaviour.
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