Sexual communication with a child

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FIN/25/3321 

Version Date: 25/06/2025

The Performance & Analysis Department have provided the following information:

We have searched the Niche Crime database for the HO code 071/17.

Please tell me the number of recorded offences under s.15A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, sexual communication with a child, (Home Office recording code 71/17) recorded from (and including) April 1st 2024 until (and including) March 31st, 2025.

Total number of offences = 88

Where possible I would like to know the age and gender of the victim, broken down into age groups: 11 and under, 12-15, 16 and over.

Please note:

An individual can be the victim of more than one offence

A victim may not be identified

*The 24 victims with no data will most likely relate to instances were a decoy child was used (Paedophile hunters), the victim in these cases has been set to REX

Please tell me the age and gender of the youngest victim.

9 year old female victim

Where possible I would like to know the total number of perpetrators linked to these offences.

48 individual suspects, not including multiple offences

Please tell me all the forms of communication (i.e. which social media or messaging platform such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Kik, TikTok etc.) that have been recorded as having been used in connection with recorded offences under s.15A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, sexual communication with a child, from (and including) April 1st 2024 , until (and including) March 31st 2025.

*Note – This involved a manual trawl through each sexual communication with a child crime marked as being either cyber-dependent or cyber-enabled

Some of the crimes may have had multiple social media accounts linked to the crime

How many offences, where the means of communication was known, took place on private messaging services?

See table above for recorded information