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Youths who tortured and killed kittens banned from ever owning pets

Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Wednesday 6 August 2025 by Jill Powell

Two teenagers who admitted torturing and killing kittens have been detained in a young offender institution and banned from ever owning pets again. The boy, 17, and girl, 17, who cannot be named due to their age, both previously pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

At a sentencing hearing at Highbury Magistrates' Court , the male defendant was sentenced to 12 months' detention in a secure youth centre while the female defendant was sentenced to nine months' detention.

Both defendants were also permanently disqualified from owning pets under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Two eyewitnesses saw the couple holding hands as they approached a secluded part of a footpath in Ruislip, North West London, carrying a black animal carrier with cats inside.

Armed with knives, a blowtorch and scissors, the pair dismembered and left the mutilated bodies behind. One kitten was recovered hanging from a tree.

The kittens that the defendants killed were sourced through legitimate websites where owners sell pets. The pair falsely indicated they were legitimate buyers and paid for the animals in cash.

Stephen Hancock of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This was an unimaginable act of cruelty on two defenceless animals which caused immense shock across our community.

“The manner in which these teenagers left the kittens was deeply disturbing and distressing.

“Instead of letting them hide behind their age, the CPS put forward the strongest possible charges to ensure they faced the full consequences of their actions.

“Whatever their motivation may have been, both defendants have now been disqualified from ever owning a pet and will have to live with a criminal record for the rest of their life.”

Following a rapid investigation by the Metropolitan Police, prosecutors charged both teenagers with a range of offences just two weeks after the kittens were found.

Forensic evidence on the knives, animal carrier and rope found at the scene proving this was a premeditated attack, as well as cell-site data that showed both defendants’ phones present at the scene, all formed part of the CPS’s case.

Expert evidence from a veterinarian was also sourced to ensure we could prove to the court that the animals would have suffered immensely at the hands of both defendants, before succumbing to their injuries.

During police interview, the male defendant laughed when he was shown images of the weapons recovered at the scene. The girl suggested she wanted to dissect the animals due to her interest in biology.

As part of the CPS’s drive to save valuable court time, prosecutors presented the strongest possible visual and eyewitness evidence, ensuring both defendants pleaded guilty to all charges at the earliest possible opportunity.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “The RSPCA is deeply shocked and saddened by the horrific and completely unnecessary attack on these young animals by two teenagers.

“Generally, it is very concerning that many more young people are exposed to animal cruelty than previous generations - and we are troubled by the impact this is having on how animals are valued by society.

“Our Animal Kindness Index, a UK-wide annual survey into people’s attitudes towards animals, shows that 60% of 16 and 17 year olds had recently witnessed animal cruelty - including on social media and online, and it is frightening the impact this may be having in desensitising some to the horrors of animal abuse.

“But there is hope. The RSPCA is committed to creating a kinder world for every animal, by educating children on animal welfare issues and advocating for animals.”

Man charged with child cruelty offences at Leicestershire summer camp

Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Tuesday 5 August 2025 by Jill Powell

Janine McKinney, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East Midlands, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the prosecution of a 76-year-old man with child cruelty offences following a police investigation into a summer camp held at Stathern Lodge, Leicestershire.

"This decision has been made after reviewing a file of evidence from Leicestershire Police.

“Jonathon Ruben will be charged with three child cruelty offences relating to three boys. He will appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Saturday, 1 August.

“This has been an extremely upsetting and shocking moment for the community, and especially for the children and parents most directly affected.

“We would like to remind all concerned that there are now active criminal proceedings against Mr Ruben, and he has the right to a fair trial. There must be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that may in any way prejudice these proceedings."

Protect your child from online sexual abuse this summer

Source: Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) published on this website Friday 1 August 2025 by Jill Powell

Make sure your home doesn’t have an open door to abusers by following these simple steps to educate, inform and support your childline

One of the most important things you can do to keep your child safe online is to TALK:
🆃alk to your child about online sexual abuse.
🅰gree ground rules about the way you use technology as a family.
🅻earn about the platforms and apps your child loves.
🅺now how to use tools, apps and settings that can help keep your child safe online.

Initiating that first conversation is challenging, and something no parent wants to do, but engaging in open and ongoing conversations about online sexual abuse could make all the difference in keeping them safe online.

Download the TALK resource for guidance, tips and support

Report Remove is a first-of-its kind tool run by the Internet Watch and the NSPCC’s Childline, providing young people under 18 with a safe and simple way to report sexual imagery of themselves that has been shared online.

Throughout the process, young people are provided with support from Childline, while the IWF works to ensure this imagery cannot be uploaded or redistributed online.

If your child confides that they’re worried about their intimate images being shared online, you can encourage them to make a report and seek support via Report Remove.

Access the Report Remove site

Young people are sharing nudes for all kinds of reasons – with people they know, and people they don’t. These images are routinely being ‘leaked’ and shared across peer groups and the wider internet.

Our Think Before You Share campaign aims to educate young people on the harm of sharing sexual imagery by encouraging thoughtful decision-making, and to help parents/carers manage discussions about online safety with their children.

If your child approaches you about this topic, you can refer them to this resource or use it to initiate conversation around their online safety.

Visit the Think Before You Share site for advice and guidance

Sexually coerced extortion or ‘sextortion' is a type of blackmail where someone tries to use sexual imagery of a victim to make them do something against their will or pay money.

Criminals often target people who use social media platforms, webcam/live streaming sites or websites related to pornography. They might pretend to be someone else online and befriend their victim. Later, they might threaten to share intimate pictures or videos with their victim’s family and friends.

If your child ever finds themselves in this situation, it’s important to reassure them that they are not at fault and to seek help.

Access support and guidance on dealing with sextortion

Keeping children safe online: changes to the Online Safety Act explained updated August 1 2025

Source: Department of Science, Innovation and Technology published on this site Monday 4 August 2025 by Jill Powell

The way children experience the internet has fundamentally changed, as new laws under the Online Safety Act have come into force to protect under-18s from harmful online content they shouldn’t ever be seeing. This includes content relating to:

pornography
self-harm
suicide
eating disorder content

Ofcom figures show that children as young as 8 have accessed pornography online, while 16% of teenagers have seen material that stigmatises body types or promotes disordered eating in the last 4 weeks.   

To protect the next generation from the devastating impact of this content, people now have to prove their age to access pornography or this other harmful material on social media and other sites.    

Platforms are required to use secure methods like facial scans, photo ID and credit cards checks to verify the age of their users. This means it will be much harder for under-18s to accidentally or intentionally access harmful content. 

It’s clear in Ofcom’s codes that we expect platforms to ensure that strangers have no way of messaging children. This includes preventing children from receiving DMs from strangers and children should not be recommended any accounts to connect with.  

Data privacy

While people might see more steps to prove their age when signing up or browsing age-restricted content, they won’t be compromising their privacy.    

The measures platforms have to put in place must confirm your age without collecting or storing personal data, unless absolutely necessary. For example, facial estimation tools can estimate your age from an image without saving that image or identifying who you are. Many third-party solutions have the ability to provide platforms with an answer to the question of whether a user is over 18, without sharing any additional data relating to the user’s identity. 

 The government and the regulator, Ofcom, are clear that platforms must use safe, proportionate and secure methods, and any company that misuses personal data or doesn’t protect users could face heavy penalties.

Services must also comply with the UK’s data protection laws. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has set out the main data protection principles that services must take into account in the context of age assurance, including minimising personal data which is collected for these purposes.  

Virtual Private Networks

While Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are legal in the UK, according to this law, platforms have a clear responsibility to prevent children from bypassing safety protections. This includes blocking content that promotes VPNs or other workarounds specifically aimed at young users.   

This means that where platforms deliberately target UK children and promote VPN use, they could face enforcement action, including significant financial penalties.  

The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) reports that there has been an additional 5 million age checks on a daily basis as UK-based internet users seek to access sites that are age-restricted.

Legal adult content

Online Safety laws do not ban any legal adult content. Instead, the laws protect children from viewing material that causes real harm in the offline world, devastating young lives and families.   

Under the Act, platforms should not arbitrarily block or remove content and instead must take a risk-based, proportionate approach to child safety duties.

Protecting freedom of speech

As well as legal duties to keep children safe, the very same law places clear and unequivocal duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression. Failure to meet either obligation can lead to severe penalties, including fines of up to 10% of global revenue or £18 million, whichever is greater. The Act is not designed to censor political debate and does not require platforms to age gate any content other than those which present the most serious risks to children such as pornography or suicide and self-harm content.

Places of worship warned by regulator over “inflammatory and divisive” language

Source: The Charity Commission published on this site Thursday 31 July 2025 by Jill Powell

The Charity Commission for England and Wales has criticised the Central Oxford Mosque Society and The Mosque and Islamic Centre of Brent, both of which failed to prevent their platforms being misused to communicate inappropriate material.

It was found that there was misconduct and / or mismanagement committed in connection with the charities.

Central Oxford Mosque Society

The Commission opened a case into the charity after concerns were raised about posts on the charity’s social media platform in October and November 2023.

The posts commented on the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East. One provided information on what to do if arrested at a protest and advertised the services of a specific private solicitor’s firm. Another featured a graphic cartoon which seemed to criticise media reporting of the conflict. A third post included another cartoon suggesting the media misrepresents the situation in Palestine. Both cartoons were shared by the charity just three days after the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The Commission considered that the sharing of these cartoons could create community tensions in the context of the conflict in the Middle East.

The regulator engaged with the trustees, who were unable to explain how the posts furthered the charity’s purposes for the public benefit. It found that, at the time of publishing the posts, the charity had no social media policy in place and that only one trustee had access to the social media account. The trustees’ responses to the Commission also failed to acknowledge or recognise all of the concerns about the posts in question.

The Commission concluded that the posts were outside the charity’s purposes, and that two were divisive and inflammatory.

The Official Warning sets out actions the charity is to take to address the wrongdoing, including to create, implement and adhere to robust policies, including a social media policy, and to ensure all of the charity’s activities are in furtherance of its purposes.

The regulator acknowledges that, since it gave the charity notice of its intention to issue an Official Warning, the charity’s trustees have taken steps to address the concerns.

The Mosque and Islamic Centre of Brent

The Commission opened a case after concerns were raised in the media about speeches held at the charity’s premises. The sermons were promoted on the speaker’s social media channel.

The Commission determined that of five speeches given at the charity’s premises in November and December 2023, four included inflammatory and divisive content, two contained content that could reasonably be interpreted as encouraging support of Hamas, a proscribed organisation, and one could be reasonably interpreted as discouraging worshippers from engaging with democratic processes.

The Commission found that, at the time of the speeches, the charity did not have effective policies in place to manage risks related to speakers at the charity. In response to the regulator’s concerns, the charity’s trustees did not demonstrate that that they fully understood the risk of reputational harm being caused by the sermon and were unable to offer adequate assurance that they would take action to prevent a similar failure in the future.

The Official Warning sets out steps the charity now needs to take to address the concerns.

The Commission notes that, since it gave the charity notice of its intention to issue an Official Warning, the charity has adopted a written policy on speakers.

Charity Commission Assistant Director for Investigations and Compliance, Stephen Roake said

“We recognise that recent events in the Middle East are emotive and distressing. But it is precisely in times of conflict that charities are expected to bring people together, not to stoke further division.

“Trustees of charities have a legal duty and responsibility to ensure everything their charity does is capable of furthering its purposes, and must also take steps to protect the charity’s assets, including its reputation.

“Sadly, in the case of these two charities, the trustees failed to have appropriate processes in place, and allowed their charity’s names and reputations to be exposed to serious harm through inflammatory and divisive language, and in one case, seeming to associate the charity with a proscribed organisation.

“We expect the trustees to continue to take swift action to address the respective concerns.”

During the last 18 months, the Commission has opened more than 300 regulatory cases involving charities supporting different sides of the Middle East conflict. It has issued formal statutory guidance to charities in around 100 of these cases, and has made more than 70 referrals to the police where it considers a criminal offence might have been committed.