Sharp rise in the number of underage sex victims who met strangers online
The number of children who were sexually assaulted after meeting strangers online rose sharply last year, with the youngest victim being only nine years old.
Warning of the rising risk from children’s online activities, Senior Inspector Sarah Chan Hang-ming of the police family conflict and sexual violence policy unit, said predators often established a close relationship with their victims before getting them to discuss suggestive topics, send intimate images or meet in person.
“We’ve observed that children will meet in person with people they met online without knowing much about their background, ultimately falling victim to sexual assault during these meetings,” she said.
The city recorded 696 cases of sexual abuse involving children last year, up from 578 in 2022, and they accounted for half of the 1,394 child abuse cases reported in 2023. The other half were cases of physical abuse.
With more children going online in recent years, the number of reports of minors sexually assaulted by people they met online had also risen, Chan said.
Of the 696 cases of sexual abuse, 45 arose from the child victim’s online activities, up from 39 in 2022. There were 21 cases of sexual intercourse with a minor below the age of 16, 13 cases of indecent assault, five cases of rape, four incidents of indecent conduct towards minors and two cases of buggery with a boy below 16 or without consent.
Most of the 45 victims were aged between 12 and 16. The nine-year-old was among these cases.
After a 22-year-old man was arrested last year for having sex with a 12-year-old girl, police found the pair considered themselves a couple after chatting for two days on a dating app.
Chan said even in cases where accused people claimed to be in a relationship with the child, “sexual intercourse with an underage minor is a serious crime, and being in a romantic relationship is no defence”.
Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 is punishable with a maximum sentence of five years. If the girl is younger than 13, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
Chan also warned of the dangers of “read once” messaging functions on various social media platforms and messaging applications. Children were often misled into believing it was all right to send suggestive or explicit messages and pictures by using this function, as the content would disappear after being seen briefly.
“These functions give the illusion that no other person would be able to see the suggestive message or photos sent, but people can save such content by screengrabs or recording their device screens to use the explicit photos for ulterior motives,” Chan said.
“Read once” functions allow designated content in a conversation to become unavailable to both parties after being displayed for a limited time, usually a few seconds.
Chan said a 15-year-old boy was threatened by a man he met online who demanded sex using nude images the teenager had sent through a “read once” setting on a dating app last year. The man was arrested after the boy’s parents made a police report.
The city recorded 443 cases of online blackmailing with nude or partially nude images or videos involving students last year, with the youngest victim aged 11.