Section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 makes it an offence for an adult who has established contact with a child on at least two occasions to meet, or travel with the intention of meeting a child, with intent to commit a sexual offence against that child. The offence is punishable by up to ten years imprisonment.

The previous contact can occur through, for example, meetings, telephone conversations or communications on the Internet, and it is designed to tackle behaviour whereby the adult gains the child’s trust and confidence so that he can arrange to meet the child for the purpose of committing a sexual offence.

For a recent news article see Jail for internet teen ‘groomer’ on the BBC website.

Experts have identified 5 stages of grooming
1. Friendship forming stage
2. Relationship forming
3. Risk assessment stage
4. Exclusivity phase
5. Sexual phase