Thames Valley arrests after 'online child sex abuse rise during lockdown'

Police said reported offences had risen 91% so far this year

More than 30 suspected paedophiles have been arrested as part of a police investigation into a rise in online child sex abuse during the coronavirus lockdown.

Thames Valley Police said it raided addresses in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire throughout May.

The force said the suspected offences included arranging to meet children for sex and making indecent images.

The force said 24 children had been safeguarded.

Det Ch Insp Matt Darnell said criminals were trying to exploit lockdown

Det Ch Insp Matt Darnell said reports of online child sexual abuse in the Thames Valley were 91% higher in the first five months of 2020 than in the same period last year.

He said: "Sadly, we believe that criminals have looked to exploit the fact that more children have been at home and online.

"As a result, in May we executed 37 search warrants and seized more than 400 electronic devices."

Advice for parents, carers and children

• The National Crime Agency in the UK has created the "ThinkuKnow" website

• It has advice for parents and others working with children on how best to protect them online

• The website includes advice written for children themselves

• It has received more than 250,000 hits since the pandemic began

• The BBC also has Own It, a guide to staying safe online.

A total of 36 people were arrested by the force and by the South East Regional Organised Crime unit, he said.

Most have been bailed while their devices were examined but some have been charged with arranging to meet children for sexual offences, he added.

"Often offenders are pretending to be someone they're not," Det Ch Inp Darnell said. "That leads to blackmail or trying to ask the children to do things they're uncomfortable with."

He urged parents to look out for warning signs of abuse, including children becoming "secretive, sad or withdrawn".