March 8, 2008
Mobile phone top-up in exchange for sexual photos
The BBC reports on a court case about a carpenter who was arrested for having underage sex with young girls.
Paul Etheridge, 24, had more than 200 indecent images of girls, aged 13 to 15, on his mobile phone and thousands more on his computer.
The court was told Etheridge offered mobile phone top-up vouchers to girls in return for them sending indecent images of themselves in messages.
Det Supt Pete O'Sullivan, of Surrey police, said: "Most worrying of all, he escalated from downloading internet images, to grooming girls to make their own photos and actually meeting a girl to carry out sexual acts.
"Technology provides a wealth of benefits for young people. But with many children now owning their own mobile phone or having a computer in their bedroom, parents must also be aware of the potential dangers."
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