I stumbled across indecent images at 17. Now I live with the consequences, convicted teenage sex offender writes

I was confused about why they were there until they gathered my family and me in the front room.

“You’re being investigated for possession of indecent images of children”, they told us.

At 17, I thought my life was over.

I had been addicted to pornography since the age of 8. I was often left home alone as a child, and with unlimited access to my laptop, I spent days sitting in front of a screen.

Soon, my addiction spiralled and I began seeking out the most extreme content I could find. I became desensitised, and it was only a matter of time before I found something that would change my life forever.

I was never really accessing indecent images purposefully. It was more of something I stumbled across on Twitter, after receiving an anonymous message containing a website link.

I clicked on it, and the website showed hundreds of nude photos of teenage girls.

The oldest was my age, and the youngest looked around 14.

I closed the website immediately, but I was drawn back. Curiosity got the better of me, and I spent several months viewing the images up to four times a week.

On the day the police seized my devices, I went to school as usual. In the months that followed, I passed my A-levels, spent time with my friends, and tried to come to terms with my new life as a soon-to-be convicted sex offender.

At the Crown Court in April this year, I pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images. I was handed a 24-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, alongside 100 hours of community service and a fine.

I must also meet with my probation officer regularly and have enrolled in a rehabilitation programme, where we learn about online safety.

Looking back, I think it’s insane how easy it was for me to access this material at such a young age. Teenagers don’t understand the seriousness of what they’re looking at and rarely recognise addiction within themselves.

The government’s Online Safety Act has received a lot of criticism, but I think it’s great. I support any measures that prevent young people from repeating the same mistakes I made.

I would like to see more done to regulate X; however, harmful content often slips through the cracks. Their moderation team is extremely slow and not equipped to handle all the content that passes through the website every day.

That’s no excuse for what I did, though.

My offence has landed me in a bad place. I now feel like I’m getting nowhere in life. I once planned to attend university, but now I live on government assistance in a rundown house and am struggling to find work.

I am on the register for another 7 years and am unsure whether I’ll ever get a girlfriend, let alone have a family of my own.

I feel nothing but guilt and disgust over what I did, but I am no longer that 17-year-old boy.

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If you’re at risk of offending, contact the Lucy Faithfull Foundation for free, confidential advice.

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