this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2026
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Child sexual abuse in the UK is soaring, police have said, with 1,000 paedophile suspects being arrested each month and the number of children being rescued from harm rising by 50% in the last five years.

The National Crime Agency said the growth in offending across the UK was driven by technology and linked to the radicalisation of offenders in online forums, encouraging people to view images of child sexual abuse by reassuring them it was normal.

Most contact with children happened on mainstream social media platforms, with algorithms pushing paedophilic material to people who have shown a previous interest in it.

The significant increase in every measure “really worries us”, said Rob Jones, the NCA’s director general of operations.

Leads about people interested in sexually abusing children had risen tenfold in a decade, he said, with 1,200 children a month being safeguarded.

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[–] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 54 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Arresting 1000 a month for computer images, but not one former prince who fucked a flesh and blood child.

[–] how_we_burned@lemmy.zip 37 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Arresting 1000 a month for computer images, but not one former prince who ~~fucked~~raped a flesh and blood child.

Words matter

[–] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 21 points 2 months ago

I stand corrected.

[–] lolo@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Yes. I stand corrected. The former prince raped a child.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 41 points 2 months ago

How many are convicted and how many found guilty? Also is this a case of more crime or just being better at finding crime that was always there? Honestly not sure how you would be able to tell for that though.

[–] Corporal_Punishment@feddit.uk 37 points 2 months ago (2 children)

So me having to verify my age to buy NSFW games on steam and to use discord has accomplished nothing in the fight to protect children online?

Well colour me surprised.

[–] couldhavebeenyou@lemmy.zip 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't think age verification for games and movies and such are meant to protect against sexual abuse. They're there to protect the 'feeble mind' of children

[–] rushmonke@ttrpg.network 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's to surveil the population.

[–] couldhavebeenyou@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 months ago

Well I agree that that's a huge risk, but apparently they don't even have the manpower to round up all the pedophiles

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[–] tyrant@lemmy.world 27 points 2 months ago (7 children)

I'm honestly shocked there are that many pedophiles out there. What is WRONG with people?

[–] nightwatch_admin@feddit.nl 34 points 2 months ago

Well, it’s a 1000 suspects, not necessarily 1000 convicted. And sadly, there are false accusations for examplentoo.

Then again, if only 10% of such a 1000 is a legitimate suspect, then that’s shocking enough.

[–] tomiant@piefed.social 27 points 2 months ago

I'm questioning the numbers. First off, they are suspects, secondly, what are the determining qualifiers? It wouldn't shock me that the UK, who is in the process of creating a total surveillance shitopia using the justification of "protecting children" would have incentive to adopt extra broad definitions to scare people like yourself into believing pedos are everywhere around you so you would support their political agenda.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago (3 children)

What's been shocking me is just how rampant pedophilia actually is. What the fuck is it that draws so many people (primarily powerful cis men) to it? It's fucking disgusting

[–] Echinoderm@aussie.zone 28 points 2 months ago

The perception that it's primarily powerful men is a distortion from the Epstein files. Those are the ones that can traffic victims maybe, but more often sexual assaults on children are by people known to the victim, like family or friends of family.

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If you want a real answer it's likely mostly because humans only recently became "civilised" as far as our evolutionary past is concerned.

For our entire history before that, it has been evolutionarily advantageous to breed as early as biologically possible.

These genetics still exist and having attraction to minors still haunts humanity. Some studies show very large numbers of adults, in the realm of 10-25% of the population, are attracted to minors. Usually the definition is below the age of consent in the country of the study.

Almost all of these people understand it's wrong and do not pursue these unwanted feelings. When people have overlaps between psychopathy, trauma or other conditions and the attraction to minors they often become offenders.

[–] nykula@piefed.social 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Having children early is a different demographic, teenagers with teenagers or young adults. Pedos are older people targeting teenagers, which I'm not sure has any significant evolutionary advantage. If anything, young women would be better off looking for young men, and vice versa. I'd argue pedos is a socially constructed phenomenon, powered mainly by power disbalance, not an evolutionary one.

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Evolutionary pressures and positive selection does not care for these constructs, getting older isn't likely to decrease attraction to minors in these people

[–] nykula@piefed.social 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

While they can be attracted, without social pressures the teenagers would simply tell them to go away. An image of an older entrepreneur or a star seeking very young companions is recognized as success. Older people have more autonomy and resources than young adults and teenagers. Being an equal in a company of other teenagers is seen as boring, less cool than a teenager in a company of adults. Socially constructed hierarchies of adults over children like these add up, leading to predators not being prevented as much as they should. In case of Epstein, he was considered normal as long as he was perceived as targeting young women in their late teens as a 40 year-old man, which I think should be much more frowned upon; instead, it's being celebrated, not by evolution but by adults making conscious decisions.

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago

These are very new concepts over the duration of evolution. Grooming has probably existed since the dawn of social structures

[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Lack of self-control or empathy, paired with a fucked up mind. Same as serial killers, I'd guess.

[–] cecilkorik@piefed.ca 15 points 2 months ago

Many sociopaths are not limited by their lack of empathy and are able to navigate the systems of society with ease in ways that people with morals simply can't or won't. As a result, it seems likely that a very high proportion of the people historically and currently in powerful positions are in fact sociopaths. Our systems were never designed to defeat sociopathic tendencies, in fact they tend to reward them. And now that the sociopaths are in power, they begin to realize that nobody can stop them, and they become even more brazen as they make sure the systems reward them even more, and make systems that will never stop rewarding them.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I wonder how many of the Trump-Epstein Class are serial killers. We already know for sure many of them have blood on their hands

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[–] couldhavebeenyou@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Police said there was no typical offender and previously it had been estimated that up to 840,000 adults in the UK had a sexual interest in children.

If you're easily shocked, don't compare that to the total number of adults in the UK

[–] a1studmuffin@aussie.zone 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I had to check after this comment.

840,000 pedophiles / 55,653,768 UK adults = 1.5% of all adults or 1 in 66 adults. That is much higher than I thought, and I assume it's a similar ratio globally.

[–] LwL@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

Is it that surprising? Age play is a thing, plus so much porn has actresses dressed up to look like a child for some reason (the reason is people are into it). It's just that, same as any other fetish that will harm people if acted on, 99% of that 1.5% are just gonna be normal about it and not diddle kids.

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[–] leftascenter@jlai.lu 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Sorry to break it to you

world statshttps://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/nearly-half-sexual-abuse-first-happens-age-15-or-younger-global

Key takeaways

The prevalence of sexual violence against children (SVAC) is high, with nearly one out of five women and one out of seven men around the globe who are survivors.

Regardless of regional or economic status, SVAC prevalence among women is substantial, even in high-income countries such as the Netherlands (30%), New Zealand (29%), the US (28%), and the UK (24%).

Low- and middle-income nations like Chile, Costa Rica, India, and Rwanda recorded a high prevalence among women of at least 30%; among men in Bangladesh and Côte d’Ivoire, the prevalence was 28%.

[–] rushmonke@ttrpg.network 3 points 2 months ago

People don't just wear signs saying they're a pedo.

Odds are some of the people you know are pedos without you suspecting it.

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[–] tomiant@piefed.social 14 points 2 months ago

When there is "significant increase in every measure", then that usually means that they changed the measure.

[–] RIotingPacifist@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Most contact with children happened on mainstream social media platforms, with algorithms pushing paedophilic material to people who have shown a previous interest in it.

What if we lived in a society which offered these people counciling instead of CSAM

[–] eleijeep@piefed.social 9 points 2 months ago

What if we regulated the social media companies and outlawed algorithmic radicalisation?

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[–] shittydwarf@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] MurrayL@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Last time I checked he isn’t from the UK

[–] cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 months ago

I had the same thought, except "do the US next, and start at the top." Because so what if you jail 1000 paedophiles in the US. They're all empowered by knowing their president is one as well and that he seems untouchable. Just like he's empowered racists and homophobes and others who identify as like him.

The UK has done a fabulous job; they've had a lot of high profile cases and there's still much work to be done, but they heard a royal was in the Trump-Epstein files and they stripped him of his title. That's awesome and people in the US would love to see the same happen to their "royals" (i.e. the wealthy).

[–] arin@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

He visits Russia more than UK

[–] RIotingPacifist@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago
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[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 months ago

Not one of them an ex prince

[–] TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

At least they are being arrested... Looking at the dystopian shithole across the pond 👀

[–] Jax@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

You think any of these 1000 pedos are Prince Andrew?

No. No they aren't.

[–] rushmonke@ttrpg.network 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

"Child rape for me, not for thee." - our oligarchs

spoilerHave fun getting up and going to work.

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[–] TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)
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[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 months ago

These folks would be great for political office in the US.

[–] xc2215x@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That is a lot. Good for the UK police.

[–] RaoulDuke25@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 months ago

Charges aren't convictions.

[–] x00z@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I'm wondering if this is because how social media and internet culture fucks up the minds of young women, who then do sexy dances en poses for all the world to see.

I installed Instagram to talk with a friend for a while and I noticed that the feed, without any interaction from me yet, was just young women "being sexy". In many cases I suspect them to be underage.

[–] WizardofFrobozz@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Are you blaming children for pedophilia?

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[–] wuffah@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

The Online Safety Act, while a help, was not enough, police said.

[–] choui4@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 months ago

It really is pedofile island

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