Chat room perverts could face jail

The Home Office is to introduce stricter sexual offences laws that could see paedophiles jailed for the process of 'grooming' children online, rather than after an attack has been committed.

'Grooming' is the term used to describe how paedophiles cultivate inappropriate relationships with children.

According to a report by the Internet Crime Forum on child safety in internet chat rooms, published last year, one in five children have receiving unwanted sexual advances on the net.

Following the report, the government created the Internet Task Force, which includes representatives of the internet industry, child welfare organisations, the police and government, to review existing laws.

The task force has recommended a number of initiatives on top of stricter penalties for those found guilty of 'grooming' children, such as a 'kite mark' system for chat rooms so that parents know which are considered safe, and the implementation of a new internet content rating system.

Earlier this month, the Home Office published a Command Paper making a commitment to bring forward and make changes to these laws, and it is likely to make internet grooming an imprisonable offence.

A Home Office spokeswoman told vnunet.com that it hopes the bill will be published before the end of the year. By this time the Internet Task Force will also have reported its recommendations to the Home Office.

"We've been looking at the subject of internet grooming and expect to strengthen the penalties for sex offenders as well as looking at measures suggested by the Internet Task Force," a Home Office spokeswoman said.

When asked how it could be proved that a person was indulging in grooming, the Home Office said that was one of the difficulties it was hoping to clarify.

"We will introduce [a] clear and coherent set of laws. It will make clear what counts as grooming," the spokeswoman said.

The news has been welcomed by children's charities. In a statement, NSPCC director of public policy, Phillip Noyes, said: "This is the biggest shake-up of the sex laws this century, and the most significant package of sex legislation being introduced by this government.

"It means child sex abusers will face the full force of the law. This is what the NSPCC has been calling for - clearer offences and tougher sentences."

However, civil liberties groups are more dubious about how successful and fair the new laws will be.

A spokesman for Liberty told vnunet.com that the group was worried the proposed changes failed to address the problem in the right way.

"There are already laws that deal with things like grooming. We are worried that people could be prosecuted for things that others think they might do but have no plans to," he said.