Q130: My child is under 16 and I believe they are having sex with someone of a similar age, what can I do?

A child (anyone under 18 years of age) is deemed 'vulnerable' and is eligible for Special Measures to assist them to give their evidence in court. One such Special Measure, is the opportunity to have their interview video recorded. The interview takes place in a designated room and is recorded by an operator trained in the use of the video recording equipment. The purpose of recording the interview in this way, is, should the Court deem the video to be acceptable, it may then be produced as evidence-in-chief for the prosecution case (this is instead of the child having to attend court in person to answer questions).

The officer in the case will provide the details on the location of the interview, the rooms to be used and the persons to be present and of their roles. Interview supporters (for example parents or carers) may be present either in an adjacent room or in the interview room. Please be aware that in some instances, the officer may consider that the presence of a parent/carer is not necessary/required. One such example is when the parent/carer is also a witness in the case (perhaps being the first person the child has talked to). In such a case, the parent being present at the interview and hearing the full disclosure of the child could potentially be damaging to the case as a whole and therefore it is best that they do not attend. A further example may be where a child has told the officers that he/she did not wish for his parent/carer to be present.

In each case, ultimately it will be at the officer's discretion as to whether an interview supporter (parent/carer) is to be present at the interview. They will base this on all the circumstances of the case. If you have any queries in relation to the video interview procedure, the officer in the case should be able to assist.

For further information and support services, see the links in Related Information.

A disability should not prevent a person's ability to report a crime. Due to the variety of special needs/mental health issues that people experience, forces often provide specialist training for police officers.

When a case is reported involving an individual with special needs or mental health issues, every effort will be made to ensure that they are treated fairly and sensitively and the evidence that they offer is obtained in a manner that allows it to be used in future criminal proceedings. If, for example, communication aids are needed by an individual these will be provided to enable them to make their disclosure. Likewise, the force will endeavour to cater for any other specific needs.

Any person reporting historic sexual abuse to the police will be treated seriously The matter will be thoroughly investigated and historic offences could still result in the conviction of an offender.

The outcome of any such case could be difficult to predict and as such it is important that a victim under these circumstances keeps an open mind. The passage of time, means that evidence may have been lost, although corroboration of early reports, medical and social services records are examples of lines of enquiry that may be pursued. Once the suspect has been interviewed, the case papers will be assessed by the police and if there is sufficient evidence the case may be forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service who will look at:

• the legality of the case;
• the public interest of commencing a prosecution;
• the likely prospect of a conviction;

before they decide whether to take the matter forward. For further support please see the websites in Related Information.

Police take all reports of sexual attacks seriously.

You will first be spoken to by a uniformed officer who will ask you some general questions (you can ask to speak to an officer of a particular sex if that makes you feel more comfortable) and then you will be taken to a specialist suite where you will be spoken to by specially trained officers. The questions that these officers ask will be more in depth.

Do not worry if you feel embarrassed or ashamed, the officers are specially trained to help you. With your consent you will undergo a medical examination by a trained police medical examiner. An officer will be allocated to your case and will receive regular progress updates.

Possession of indecent images of children is an offence, as is the manufacture and distribution of them. You should not forward the images to anyone, even the Police, it is a very serious matter.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is the UK Internet Hotline for anyone to report online child sexual abuse imagery anonymously.

IWF works internationally to make the internet safer. They help victims of child sexual abuse worldwide by identifying and removing online images and videos of their abuse.

Please see Related Information for a link to their website.