Can my child be prosecuted for sending indecent images of themselves?

At Olliers we often get a number of inquiries from very concerned parents who found out that their children have either been taking, sending or receiving indecent images of themselves when they’re under the age of 18. Now, whilst of course the age of consent for sex is 16, the age in law for having possession of any image of that nature is 18 and if someone is under 18 then technically that is an indecent image and it is a criminal offence, and that applies for someone who takes a picture of themselves when they’re under the age of 18. It applies for someone who has sent a picture to a partner or to a friend when they’re under 18, and it applies to someone who is in receipt of an image of someone under the age of 18. Now, as a parent we all know that this is something that is potentially a bit of a gray area, unfortunately sexting has become very common between young people and certainly there have been numerous reports and studies that have been gone into. In relation to this, and to whether it should be an offence for young people, who with their own consent have taken images of themselves. Now, as it stands if the police are made aware of a situation where someone is in possession of images of someone under the age of 18 then that is something they have a duty to investigate. Now, certainly there’s some police forces that deal with this in perhaps more sensible way and they may send experienced first responders to speak to the youth involved, there are safer school officers who can speak to people who have been involved in this type of activity and neighborhood officers who can come and assist and basically give a bit of advice, but technically parents need to be aware that this is an offence and this is something that the police can investigate and ultimately call someone in to be interviewed and indeed we do get a number of cases where young people are being interviewed because of suggestion they have indecent images on their mobile phone which is extremely worrying for them and for the parents. Especially when the young people who’ve never been in trouble with the law before now. Although it is an offence to possess any images of someone under the age of 18 of a sexual nature certainly this is an area where the prosecution will not always take the matter to court or indeed find that an out-of-court disposal would be appropriate in terms of looking at whether a prosecution is necessary the crown prosecution service not only have to look at the evidence and whether they are satisfied that there’s a realistic prospect of conviction, which if someone is in possession of an image of that nature then there potentially is but they also have to look at the interests of justice and that’s the really relevant point when it comes to offences of this nature is it in the interest of justice for a youth someone aged 16 or 17 to be prosecuted for receiving images from someone who they’re in a relationship with who has sent them those images with consent and very often the crown prosecution service will be persuaded that it would not be in the interest of justice to prosecute such people if you are in a situation where your child is in possession of such images or you believe the police want to speak to them at Olliers we certainly are very happy to assist and to offer advice and support in relation to such investigations. It’s very important that you get experienced legal representation at the outset for offences of this nature because a conviction or even an arrest for an interview is something that can have an impact upon your child’s future and that’s something that every parent is very keen to avoid. At Olliers we push for voluntary interviews so they will not remain on the child’s record we push for out-of-court disposals or for arguments that is not in the interest of justice to pursue any such prosecution.