Information for families of someone who has been arrested on suspicion of online child sexual offences
You may have been directed to this page because a family member has been arrested on suspicion of online sexual offences involving children.
You may be wondering what is happening and what will happen next. This page will provide you with information about the police investigation into online offending, in particular that of indecent images of children (IIOC).
It will explain different stages of the legal process, from initial police attendance to being in custody, and what happens thereafter.
It is important to realise that you are not alone and there is support available.
In the UK you can consent to sexual activity at the age of 16. However, by law, a child is defined as someone under the age of 18.
Therefore, viewing indecent images of anyone under the age of 18 is an offence in the UK.
Section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 creates various offences regarding the taking, making or distributing indecent photographs (or pseudo-photographs) of a child.
It is an offence to take, to permit to be taken, to make, to possess, show, or to distribute or publish an image of a child posed or pictured indecently, for example in a sexual way.
This can also include images of adults involved in indecent act where a child is present but not themselves portrayed indecently. Images can include actual photographs or video footage, drawings or tracings, or images created digitally.
‘Making’ an indecent image does not just refer to a person taking a photo or video - it can also refer to a person downloading or printing an indecent image or opening an email attachment containing an indecent image.
For more information on the law and types of offences, please visit the sexual offences section on the Crown Prosecution Service’s website.
Police have attended your address, acting on information provided to them by various agencies or a third-party report from a member of the public. Each case is different.
To prevent unnecessary attention by members of the public, officers will normally attend in plain clothes. However, officers will have their warrant cards for identification and would have presented them to you upon arrival.
Often police officers will be in possession of a warrant obtained from a magistrate or judge at court.
The warrant will contain information which explains what officers are searching for and why - officers will be searching for any devices capable of storing IIOC.
Devices are all types of electronic equipment capable of storing images. This will not be specific to the subject and may include all family member’s devices.
Devices include items such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, USB storage devices and hard drives etc., and may also include gaming consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox.
You may be requested by officers to provide the password for these devices. Failure to provide the correct password may result in possible criminal offences.
Officers are accompanied by digital forensic experts, who carry dedicated equipment to examine the devices. All devices that have been examined and found not to contain IIOC, will be returned at that point or a later date should the devices need a more thorough examination. If devices are found to contain IIOC, they will be removed from the address for a full forensic examination. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the work we cannot be specify on how long this will take.
At this point you may be wondering what is going on and what is going to happen. You may wish to seek support from family members or friends. Police will never disclose to your family or friends the reasons for the arrest. This is to protect you and your family from any unwanted attention.
The officers will tell you which police station the subject will be taken for interview. It is important to realise that you will not be able to speak with them face to face whilst they are in police custody.
However, the subject has the right to inform somebody of their choice that they are in custody – this may be by telephone if appropriate. If you are unable to speak with them via telephone, the investigating officer may be able to advise you as to why you can’t speak with them at this time.
The subject has the right to independent legal advice, free of charge or they can appoint their own solicitor. It is important to understand that officers dealing with the case will be working extremely hard gathering evidence and interviewing the subject, so there may be long periods of silence.
You are more than welcome to speak to the custody officers at the police station where they are being held to ask for an update. This can be done by calling 101 and requesting to speak to the custody sergeant.
Whilst they are in custody, the subject’s health and wellbeing is a priority and if required a doctor or a nurse will attend to give medical support.
If the subject has access to children (under 18), the police will notify Social Services of their involvement with the person.
The procedures of Children’s Social Services will vary from case to case. On receiving the police referral, Social Services will contact you as a family to make further enquiries. As a result of these enquiries and checks with other agencies a decision is made on how best to support the family.
Possible outcomes are that; the referral will close with no further action, will close on the basis that support services are offered, or it may be that Social Services may undertake a further assessment and/or follow the child protection process.
Depending on the severity of the offence and/or the subject’s offending history (if any), it is possible that the subject will be remanded into custody. This means they will remain in police custody until the next available court session. They will continue to have the right to free and independent legal advice while they remain in custody.
After arrest and interview and depending on the circumstances, officers may seek to release the subject on police bail.
Police bail is when the subject has been released from police custody whilst the investigation is still being conducted and is required to return to the police station at a given date and time. This means, police have insufficient evidence to charge at this time and need to conduct further enquiries.
In order to protect any vulnerable people, the subject may have certain conditions placed upon them.
This is referred to as ‘conditional bail’ and can include conditions such as;
- living at a particular address
- not contacting certain people
- surrendering their passport to the police so they cannot leave the UK
- reporting to a police station at agreed times – for example - once a week
- not to have any unsupervised access to children under the age of 18 – this may include their own children
- Restrictions placed on their internet activity – for example - not to delete search history, not to use a device that does not record the search history and not to use incognito mode.
If they don’t adhere to these conditions, they may commit further offences and be arrested again. This could lead to them being remanded in custody until their court hearing.
Where there are no conditions imposed, a subject whilst on bail will still be required to attend a police station at a set date and time. This is referred to as unconditional bail.
The subject will be given a date to reattend the police station to answer bail. If they are then charged, the conditional bail remains until they attend at court.
Please be mindful that the length of time on police bail may vary throughout the investigation due to the complex nature of the case.
It is important to realise that these conditions are in place to prevent the subject from committing further offences and to safeguard the most vulnerable people in our society.
The subject’s legal representative will be available to offer more advice in regards to the police bail process.
When the police have finished their investigation, they may pass the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS will make a decision as to whether the subject should be charged or not.
Cases involving IIOC will invariably be passed to CPS for a charging decision.
If the CPS decide there is sufficient evidence to charge, the subject will be either required to attend a police station to be charged or they will be charged on the day they answer bail.
If the CPS or police decide there is insufficient evidence to charge, the subject will be released from police bail with no further action at that time. More information can be found on the CPS website.
Depending on the circumstances, the subject may be released under investigation (RUI). This means the subject has no bail conditions, but the police investigation is still ongoing, and an officer will keep the subject updated with case progress.
Following this, the subject may be required to attend a police station again for interview, they may be charged, or a summons issued to attend court, or no further action will be taken. Only when the police advise the subject that the investigation is completed will the investigation conclude.
Depending on the circumstances, the subject may be released under investigation (RUI). This means the subject has no bail conditions, but the police investigation is still ongoing, and an officer will keep the subject updated with case progress.
Following this, the subject may be required to attend a police station again for interview, they may be charged, or a summons issued to attend court, or no further action will be taken. Only when the police advise the subject that the investigation is completed will the investigation conclude.
Following the subject being released under investigation a postal charge/requisition may be issued (sometimes known as summons to court). The postal charge/requisition is a legal document which tells the subject that they are to be charged for a criminal offence. The requisition will tell the subject to appear before a specified court, to answer the charge.
A sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) is an order given by the court to a person who poses a risk of sexual harm to either the general public or to an individual person.
It is given to a person who has been convicted or cautioned for an offence listed within the Sexual Offences Act 2003. A person with a SHPO will be recorded on the Sex Offenders’ Register. A SHPO is recorded on the police national computer and will remain there until its expiry date or indefinitely (dependant on the length of the order).
A SHPO can last for a minimum of five years or until a further order is made.
A SHPO consists of prohibitions, which may include restricting access to vulnerable persons i.e. contact with children may only take place under supervised conditions. In certain circumstances contact may be supervised by a parent/guardian and/or Social Services.
A person who is subject to the requirements of the Sex Offenders’ Register will be assigned a police manager, which will be in addition to any assigned probation officer.
A police manager may be a plain clothes officer or police staff member who will risk assess and manage the subject to protect vulnerable persons and also reduce the likelihood of future re-offending.
The amount of visits by the police manager will vary depending on a case by case basis.
The police have a duty of care to safeguard the most vulnerable members of society. Invariably in cases such as these, police and partner agencies, such as Social Services may feel there is a potential risk of harm to children.
You may feel like the family member in question poses no risk to the children that they are in direct contact with - such as their own children. Nevertheless, our number one priority is the safeguarding of children and vulnerable people. (This may help explain the bail conditions mentioned previously).
If your child or children are at immediate risk of harm or you believe a criminal offence is being committed, please call 999 immediately.
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation (LFF) works with all those affected by online offending, including wives, partners, parents, all adult family members and friends of people who have been known or suspected of accessing IIOC or engaging in other inappropriate sexual behaviours involving children.
The LFF also runs a Stop it Now! confidential helpline for anyone with concerns around child sexual abuse and can be contacted on 0808 1000 900. The helpline is available from: 9am to 9pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 5.00pm Fridays.
Children can contact Childline on 0800 111 for free and confidential advice or visit the Childline website.
The Samaritans are available for everyone, no matter what they are going through. Help is confidential and available 24/7 365 days a year. You can call for free on 116 123 or visit the Samaritans website for more information.
The Emerald Centre is a sexual assault referral centre (SARC) which provides services to victims/survivors of rape or sexual assault regardless of whether the survivor/victim chooses to report the offence to the police or not.
In terms of your own personal health and wellbeing, your GP should be able to assist you in the first instance. If you need other specialist help, your GP will be able to refer you to the relevant support. We understand that crimes of this nature may be uncomfortable to discuss, however GPs are bound by rules of confidentiality.
The NSPCC has information on child protection systems and laws in the UK. This covers most aspects of safeguarding and child protection.
Citizen Advice offers free advice online, over the phone, and in person. For more information
Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is an organisation which encourages anonymous reporting of child sexual abuse content and non-photographic child sexual abuse images.
You can contact CrimeStoppers should you wish to report a crime anonymously, by calling 0800 555111.
Talking Forward funds peer support for anyone whose adult family member has been investigated for an online sexual offence.
Restitute supports third party victims of crime and helps parents, carers, children, close friends and partners who step in to care when the worst happens.
Safer Living Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation that adopts a multi-agency approach with a strong research component and focused on reducing sexual offending and re-offending through rehabilitative and preventative initiatives.
The Marie Collins Foundation works in a range of ways to ensure that at every level the needs of victims and survivors are at the forefront of all decision making.