Will my child get in trouble with the police?

No. UK police treat children who have shared an intimate image under pressure as victims of a crime, not offenders. The focus is on safeguarding your child and pursuing the person making threats.

What if the image has already been shared?

Report it to the platform, and use Childline's Report Remove (for under-18s) and the Internet Watch Foundation to work on removal. Acting quickly makes a real difference, and support is available whether or not the image has spread.

Sextortion & image abuse

A teenager's late-night panic after sending an image to a 'girl' online

An illustrative composite of financial sextortion — which heavily targets teenage boys — and the exact steps that stop it escalating.

Illustrative composite. This scenario is a realistic composite drawn from the patterns UK safeguarding organisations describe. It is not an account of a real, identifiable child, and no names are used. It is here to make the warning signs and the right response easier to recognise.

Age around 15sextortion

What was happening

A 15-year-old boy was messaged on social media by an account appearing to be a girl his age. The conversation was flattering and moved quickly. Within a single evening he was persuaded to send a nude image — and immediately received threats to send it to his followers and family unless he paid.

Warning signs

Signs that were present

• A new, very attractive contact who moved the conversation towards images fast
• Sudden, intense distress or panic after using the phone that evening
• Becoming withdrawn and secretive within hours, not days
• An out-of-character request for money or gift cards

The turning point

The teenager, frightened and ashamed, eventually told a parent late that night. The parent's first words were that they loved him, he was not in trouble, and they would sort it out together.

What the parent did

1Reassured him immediately that he was the victim of a crime, not the one in trouble.
2Did not pay anything — and stopped him from paying — because paying almost never ends the demands.
3Blocked the account but kept screenshots of the profile and messages as evidence, without deleting the chat.
4Reported to the platform and to CEOP, and used Childline's Report Remove tool to work on taking the image down.
5Stayed close over the following days, watching for signs of distress and keeping the conversation open.

How it turned out

The demands stopped once contact was cut and nothing was paid — the pattern police describe again and again. The image was reported for removal, and the family treated it as a crime committed against their son rather than a mistake he made. The hardest part had been the shame; naming it and acting quickly dissolved most of it.

What this teaches us

Takeaways

Financial sextortion overwhelmingly targets teenage boys and can move from contact to threat within hours.
The right response is: stop contact, do not pay, keep the evidence, and report.
A child who already knows 'you will never be in trouble for telling me' is far more likely to come to you fast — which is what limits the damage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & further reading

Last reviewed: 2026-07-29 · This page is educational guidance, not a substitute for emergency services, safeguarding professionals, or legal advice. If your child is in immediate danger, call 999.

This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.