A 14-year-old boy has revealed that he was added to a police database after he sent a naked image of himself to a female classmate.
The boy, whose identity has not been made public, said he sent the image by Snapchat from his bedroom while flirting with a girl of the same age, who then shared it with others.
He was later told the incident was recorded on a police intelligence database as a crime of making and distributing an indecent image of a child, after the photograph came to the attention of an officer based at the school, which is in the north of England.
Although the boy was not arrested or charged with any crime, he has been told the file remains active for a minimum of 10 years, meaning the incident may be flagged to potential employers conducting an advanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, such as for those who work with children.
The boy’s mother said she received a call from the school-based police officer who informed her of what had happened. “I don’t really remember a lot of what was said, because her opening line was ‘Simon [name has been changed] has taken and distributed an indecent image of himself’,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday.
