Girl escapes online grooming trap
- A girl aged 17 was approached on Instagram by a woman posing as a modeling scout and invited her to meet for a video shoot in central London when the girl arrived, a man she had never met before was waiting and forced himself on her
- The modeling scout and man contacted other people telling them that “she’s here’ which signaled what the victim called a ‘gang rape trap’
- The girl managed to escape to a nearby Cafe and alerted staff who called the police and told her to lock herself in the bathroom
- This story comes after 1,200 online grooming crimes were recorded by police across the UK during the April to June lockdown period
- About 100 of those were recorded in London while Instagram, owned by Facebook, was noted as the platform of choice for grooming, continuing a trend highlighted by the NSPCC in 2019
- A Facebook spokesperson said: “We don’t allow grooming on our platforms and we work closely with child protection experts and law enforcement to keep people safe
Facebook to begin paying British publishers
- Facebook will begin paying UK news publishers for some articles with the launch of Facebook News in January
- The feature adds a dedicated news tab to the Facebook app, and has already launched in the United States
- Facebook said it will “pay publishers for content that is not already on the platform” and prioritise original reporting
- It comes Hundreds of UK news outlets are already signed up to deals for the new feature, Facebook said, after years of tension between Facebook and news publishers, who have often accused it of “stealing” content
- They include publishers such as Hearst (Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire), the Guardian Media group, regional newspaper giant JPI Media and the Midland News Association
Social media influencers turn to books
- A new type of social media influencer has been growing in popularity, through a love of books
- Many people have turned to reading as a form of escapism or relaxation during the coronavirus pandemic
- Throughout lockdown, social media influencers Zoe Giles, Evie White, and Elham Aulaqi say their relationship with reading changed “for the better”
- They have been sharing their journey on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and blogs
Vulnerable children in lockdown ‘a national concern’
- The “invisibility of vulnerable children” during the pandemic should be a “matter of national concern,” says England’s Chief Inspector of Schools
- Amanda Spielman warns that when many pupils were out of school in the lockdown, teachers might not have picked up early warning signs of abuse or neglect
- The Chief Inspector says such children, at risk of harm, slipped out of sight
- Launching her annual report, Ms. Spielman says it should now be a priority to find such overlooked cases
Belfast man pleads guilty to child sexual offences
- A 32-year-old man from Belfast has been jailed for six years and three months after pleading guilty to sexual activity with a child
- The incident took place in June 2019, when Ciaran McAuley dragged the schoolboy down an alleyway
- He then sexually assaulted and threatened him
- McAuley appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Monday where he was deemed a “dangerous offender”
- The court was told he had just been released from custody for similar offences when he targeted his victim
- Judge Stephen Fowler also imposed an additional period of six years on licence, and said the extended sentence was appropriate to protect the public from further offending
