Child grooming for sex ‘needs lengthy jail term’

Grooming children for sexual exploitation should carry a maximum prison term of 14 years, a new law proposed by a backbench TD demands.

Oireachtas justice committee member Marcella Corcoran Kennedy said the move was needed to stop abusers using “legal confusion” on the matter to escape punishment.

The Fine Gael TD is backed by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and the Immigrant Council of Ireland, and says that in the past two years, some 30 children have been identified as being trafficked in Ireland for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Ms Corcoran Kennedy says the law needs to be tightened-up to prevent a situation happening in Ireland like the Rotherham scandal in Britain.

Some 1,400 children were trafficked by organised gangs in the NorthernEnglish town while police ignored the problem, an official inquiry last month found.

Though the bill has little chance of making it onto the statute books, it could become incorporated in sexual offences legislation currently being put together by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.

The Fine Gael TD said more clarity needed to be brought to the matter in order to protect vulnerable children at risk.

“My short bill seeks to tidy-up existing legislation in this area and introduce into Irish law the specific crime of child grooming, whether it takes place in the general community or online.

“It will ensure that those who seek to harm our children can find no hiding place in the law and not have an opportunity to use legal confusion to escape justice.

“The creation of the offence not only reflects the unanimous view of the Oireachtas justice committee in its recommendations of June last year but also will bring Ireland into line with European directives.

“I am greatly encouraged by the consensus achieved already on this issue and will be seeking cross-party support for this initiative and want to acknowledge the role of frontline agencies such as Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and the Immigrant Council of Ireland in supporting the bill.

“The shocking nature of the allegations which are being investigated in Rotherham show us the danger of complacency when it comes to grooming — it is my hope that we quickly move on to legislation and prevent the danger such widespread abuse happening here,” the TD said.

Immigrant Council of Ireland chief executive Denise Charlton said such a change in the law would deliver a “significant blow to traffickers, pimps and thugs” who make millions from sexual exploitation.

“This bill offers an opportunity to protect and support underage girls and boys who are trafficked into and around Ireland.”