Statement by Doug Beattie MLA on a new initiative by PSNI and SBNI

‘Children in Northern Ireland are precious to us; they are literally our future.  Yet living and growing up in Northern Ireland is becoming increasingly dangerous , not through war or famine but through sexual predators targeting our children, much of it online. There were over 2000 sexual offences against children recorded in 2024, goodness knows how many were not reported and therefore not recorded, and the damage to those affected is measurable.

The stories of children, some not even in their teens, being groomed, and sexually blackmailed is well documented. What is less well documented is those young children who have been tricked into thinking they are engaging with a child their own age when they are in fact engaging with an adult whose sole aim is sexual gratification. The predators do this by manipulating their victims into sending them explicit images and videos. These deviants have no place in our society; their manipulative methods cannot be rehabilitated but they can be controlled if our justice system is stronger dealing with them.

Therefore, I am pleased to see the initiative set up by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Safeguarding board for Northern Ireland to tackle this increasing crime trend. Nobody can use the excuse that they don’t know the law, it is a crime for anyone to possess, make, distribute, or show an indecent image of a child under 18 years of age. It is also a crime for an adult to send sexually explicit images to a child.

Children in Northern Ireland are precious to us; they are literally our future.  It is up to all of us to protect them from deviant predators who would corrupt and destroy their youth for their own sexual gratification.’