Targeting of adolescent girls online highlights importance of grooming legislation – Corcoran Kennedy

Fine Gael TD for Laois/Offaly and Member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, has said that an RTÉ programme, due to be aired tonight, which will show that young girls’ photographs are being used on pornography sites and that adolescents are being groomed online, highlights the importance of introducing grooming legislation.

“Last week the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, published the new Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2014 which includes measures I introduced on child grooming. The details that have been released about the programme due to be aired tonight are truly shocking and emphasise again the importance of this legislation.

“The programme will show that photos of young girls are being used without their knowledge or permission, that “members” are encouraged to comment on these photos and that some of those who misappropriate the photos are also involved in attempting to groom teenagers online. At present none of this activity is illegal and that is wrong.

“Robust laws are needed to protect vulnerable children online and to combat these heinous crimes. If passed, it will be an offence to encourage, procure, entice or solicit a child under 17 to do any act, and people communicating with children by any means to gain their trust for sexual exploitation will also be committing a crime.

“This Bill seeks to protect children in a modern and changing Ireland, it will apply to online and offline communication. It will leave no wriggle room for people trying to take advantage of our children.

“ The sanctions for these new offences include both fines and prison sentences ranging, in most cases, from to 10 to 14 years.

“Our young people are living in a different world to the one we grew up in and even to that young people lived in only ten years ago. Social media is a valuable outlet for communication but leaves young people who are going through a huge time of change in their lives, in an extremely vulnerable position.

“I commend Minister Fitzgeraldfor addressing this issue and I hope that the legislation will be passed without delay so that those who take advantage of our young people will be answerable to the law.”