Children as young as 12 watching huge amounts of online pornography are being drawn into viewing illegal images of other underage youngsters, a charity warns.
Experts say boys become desensitised to free and easily accessible adult content and seek out increasingly violent, degrading or extreme videos, including women being choked.
According to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, from there it sees a trend where people end up searching for illicit child abuse material.
The charity runs a Stop It Now helpline for individuals - aged from just 12-years-old but typically older - at risk of offending.
It says more young people and their parents are contacting them for advice, as well as wives and partners of adult paedophiles.
New data shows a total of 81,426 Londoners - around one in three UK callers - sought support from Stop It Now in 2024.
Jenny Taylor, a call advisor for 15 years, told the Standard: “We’re willing to speak to anyone. It could be a family member, a friend but predominately it’s offenders or potential suspects getting in touch.
“The first thing parents say is ‘Oh, my goodness’, they didn’t know the impact and feel it has ruined their [children’s] future and will stay on their record.
“We listen to their story or concern and see how we can give them advice.
“We’re coming across a common theme – an excessive and problematic use of legal pornography leading to seeing indecent images of children.
“We can probably understand they [children] would want to see sexual images of their own age group rather than somebody 20 or 30 years older, but it’s illegal.”
Adult perpetrators come from “all walks of life” and many “haven’t had a parking ticket in their lives”, says Ms Taylor, adding: “These aren’t career criminals.”
Vicky Young, head of Stop it Now, said the criminal justice system “cannot cope with the number of people out there accessing such child abuse images”.
Around 100 calls to their helpline are missed each day as the charity struggles to keep up with demand for their services.
Outrage erupted when ex-BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards was given a six-month suspended sentence following his arrest in November 2023.
Paedophile Richard Ehiemere, then 17 and linked to a neo-Nazi blackmail group, downloaded indecent images of children from his bedroom in Hackney, east London. Ehiemere, 21, will be sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on May 1.
Ms Young added half of the 275,000 Britons who sought support from the Lucy Faithfull last year were concerned about their own online sexual behaviour towards children.
She appealed to anyone currently unknown to police to come forward in confidence before suffering the “devastating consequences” of a police dawn raid.
“We want to help those people stop that behaviour as early as possible,” Ms Young said.
“Family members are devastated. The suicide and self-harm risk for people who have been arrested is incredibly high.
“They have started off looking at adult pornography, spent more time online, and then pushed the boundaries because the material isn’t as arousing as it was. Unfortunately, it’s not that hard to find extreme content online.”
Around 40 per cent of 2,520 adults surveyed by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation admitted to watching pornography, more than a quarter said their consumption has become more frequent, while 19 per cent were concerned the type of things they viewed has become more aggressive or extreme. The organisation recommends anyone at risk changes broadband settings so they can’t access over-18 porn.
Assistant Chief Constable Alastair Simpson, from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “Online child abuse sadly continues to grow in prevalence and severity, enabled by new technology that makes accessing child abuse material increasingly easier.
“The work of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation is fundamental in intercepting those who do or could pose a risk to children, and I would encourage anyone who is worried about their online behaviour to get help now, don’t let it escalate.
“Protecting children from harm is a responsibility we all share, and whilst policing works every day to target the most harmful criminals intent on abusing children online, we must see greater action from technology companies to regulate and control access to the content on their platforms.”
One offender Greg, in his mid-30s from Wales, detailed his journey from mainstream pornography to viewing child sexual abuse images, adding: “I had the knock on the door while I was at home with my wife. At first I thought a family member had died and the police were here to break the news to me. The news that my offending had been caught out was terrifying and crushing, for both me and my wife.
“I was under investigation for almost two years, issued a conditional caution and placed on the sex offenders register for two years.
“There are still lots of things in my life I need to put right. With the support of my wife, and Lucy Faithfull Foundation, as well as my will to be a good man, for myself and my loved ones, I believe offending again will never be on the cards for me. I am now two years sober from any form of pornography. I feel free from my addiction.”
