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Website snares its first online grooming offender
22 June 2006
On-line reporting works – sentencing of first UK child sex offender prosecuted following on-line report
The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), a global law enforcement initiative designed to track and convict people preying on children has today seen its first prosecution in the United Kingdom (UK) following an on-line report to the VGT website by a child.
This particular investigation was carried out in partnership with the Nottinghamshire Police force.
Lee Costi, 21, from Haslemere, Surrey, was sentenced to nine years at Nottingham Crown Court after admitting to three counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming, three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of making indecent images of children and possession of 43 indecent images of children.
Children are able to go on-line to report suspicious grooming activity and other communication direct to the VGT, which is monitored by an international alliance of law enforcement agencies bringing together partners across the UK, Australia, the United States of America and Canada as well as Interpol. The VGT collaboration sits within the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) launched on April 24th 2006 in London.
Jim Gamble, who heads the VGT and is CEO of the CEOP Centre, sees the sentencing of Lee Costi as a significant milestone. He said: “This result of this case goes a long way to show that on-line reporting of child sex abusers by young people is effective in helping law enforcement to identify offenders and bring them to justice and ensuring that other children are spared this potentially horrific ordeal.
"One of the principal objectives of the CEOP Centre is to educate young people to the risks on-line and to empower them to protect themselves and hopefully preventing further harm to children from sexual predators.
"The UK was a founder member of the VGT and this result sends out a very clear message to people who prey on children to sexually abuse them – seek help or be assured you will get caught.
"This case also shows that when people report any suspicious or inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature via our website we will take it seriously and action will be taken. Child sex abuse is one of the worst crimes imaginable and, while the internet is a very vibrant environment for children and young people, it is also a place where people have to be careful.
"If in any doubt, members of the public can report inappropriate behaviour by clicking on our website at www.ceop.gov.uk and rely on the police to take matters further.”
ENDS
NOTE TO EDITORS
The Virtual Global Taskforce brings together law enforcement from around the world to tackle abuse of children on the internet with the aim of making the on-line environment safer for children.
The members of the VGT include: the Australian Federal Police; Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the US Department of Homeland Security, Interpol and UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.
The work of the Virtual Global Taskforce is centred on developing high-impact, low-cost projects that delivers the mission of the taskforce, which is:
- to make the internet a safer place.
- to identify, locate and rescue children at risk.
- to hold offenders appropriately to account.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre was launched on Monday 24 April 2006. CEOP is the UK’s first fully co-ordinated and dedicated response bringing together law enforcement with specialists from children’s charities and the IT industry for the first time.
For further information about the CEOP Centre visit www.ceop.gov.uk or follow the link from www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com or contact the CEOP press office on 0870 000 3434.