A charity combating sexual exploitation has spoken out after an investigation has revealed the number of arrests made in north Oxfordshire for possession of illegal pornography.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by this paper to Thames Valley Police has confirmed that six arrests were made for the possession of extreme pornography in Cherwell, between the period January 2022 and June 6 this year.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: “Some pornography is illegal and possessing, making or distributing it are serious offences.

“Possessing means having the image as a file on a mobile phone or computer, a printed or hard-copy, or a computer created or manipulated image. A file that's been deleted may also count.

“This is material that's 'grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise obscene', and that 'explicitly and realistically' shows life threatening injury, serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals, bestiality, necrophilia, rape or assault by penetration.”

The spokesman also advised that a member of the public concerned about any images or videos on the internet or social media, should report it.

They added: “You can call out non-emergency, 24/7 number 101, report it online, visit a police station to speak to an officer in person, contact Crimestoppers or report it to the Internet Watch Foundation or the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command.”

Naomi Miles, founder and chair of CEASE, a charity combatting sexual exploitation in the porn industry, said: “We believe there is a clear, well-attested link between the overconsumption of pornography and the possession of extreme pornography.

“The internet has opened us up to free, virtually unlimited pornography. As with any other unnatural stimuli, pornography can affect our brain like a drug so that over time, users become desensitised and require more extreme, novel and hardcore material in order to maintain arousal.

“To maximise user engagement, porn sites’ sophisticated algorithms continually nudge users towards such content, which pushes the very limits of the law.

“Thus heavy pornography use can lead users down ‘escalation pathways’ where they develop an appetite for extreme illegal content such as images of bestiality, necrophilia and serious violence.

“As with all other forms of media, pornography has an impact on the user's attitudes and behaviours.

“This is why the possession of extreme pornography is a matter of real public concern.”

The police spokesman also advised on what a member of the public should do if they have been sent any offensive material, stating they should not print or email it, not even to send to the police.

They added that the images should not be deleted because they may be needed as evidence, and that the internet service provider should be alerted and the sender’s email blocked.