Thames Valley Police have confirmed it has received 64 reports of online child abuse due to the targeting of minors in the Coronavirus lockdown. The reports received in March 2020 are over a 200% increase compared to 26 for the same month in 2019.

Det Ch Insp Matt Darnell urged parents and carers to “have a conversation” with children about their online activities and privacy settings.”

Remedy Law recently provided information released from the NSPCC in order to assist with detecting the signs of abuse.

Mr Darnell said the signs of abuse could be hard to spot, with changes to a child’s behaviour being “mistakenly attributed to the change of circumstance or routine in which we all find ourselves”.

The detective said signs to look out for were changes in behaviour which may include a child becoming very secretive, distracted, withdrawn or protective around their social media.

“Those they are speaking to online may not be who they say they are and they can leave themselves vulnerable to those who will manipulate and groom children into what they feel is a trusting relationship,” he said.

If you believe that your child is being the subject of online grooming then do not hesitate to report this for investigation.