Offences relating to indecent images are prosecuted under the Protection of Children Act 1978 and the Sexual Offences Act 2003, with the Online Safety Act 2023 introducing stronger protections from July 2025. The Crime and Policing Bill 2025 implements recommendations to tackle the creation and possession of child sexual abuse material, making grooming a statutory aggravating factor when sentencing an adult for a child sex offence. New laws now cover deepfakes, intimate images altered using AI, and threats to share such material regardless of whether the image exists.

A technical defence is paramount in these cases, involving the forensic examination of digital devices to determine the method of image acquisition and to identify instances of 'involuntary downloading' or automated caches. Under the 2025 Bill, courts have the power to order the deprivation of images and the hardware they were stored on, such as computers or hard drives. Defence strategies also address the impact of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPOs) and the statutory footing of the child sex offender disclosure scheme ('Sarah's Law'). Proactive representation ensures that all procedural rules are followed, particularly regarding the handling of sensitive digital disclosure.