Friday June 01, 2007
Jim Gamble talks about sentencing of child sex offenders
Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.
Child sex abuse is a crime that must not and will not be tolerated. Offenders must be caught and here at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre we are doing everything in our power to safeguard children and bring perpetrators to account.
So let me be clear. If you are a person who has thoughts of a sexual nature about children then get help before you offend. If you don’t and you do go on to commit an offence then we will track and bring you to account. That will damage many lives - most significantly the victim's but also your family and friends.
If you do offend then we will apply the full powers of the criminal justice system. In most cases that will mean prison in other cases that may mean an adult caution. In all cases it will mean that the perpetrator is introduced to a system that manages the risk they pose to society and in particular children.
That is how cases are handled now. That is how cases should be handled. After all we need to ensure that the right people go to prison and that the risk they represent to our children is mitigated forever.