Damages award made in "sexting" case

Damages for "sexting" have been awarded for the first time, the BBC has reported.

The award was made against William Whillock, vice principal at a school in Kent who encouraged a 16-year-old girl to text 20 sexually-explicit photographs of herself to him between 2009 and 2010, including of her genitals.

A judge awarded £25,000 to the victim, now aged 23, for the harm caused by the text messages and images she sent Mr Whillock, who also received a three-year community sentence on being prosecuted.

The case is said to set a precedent for anyone manipulated into sending or receiving a sexually-explicit message or image, and who suffers psychological harm as a result. However the NSPCC has warned against it being used by young people as "a way to get cash by suing one another".

It added that children should be educated against sharing this kind of explicit material.