A THREE-year-old has been targeted by an upskirting pervert as hundreds of children face horror assaults in schools.
Some 1,150 upskirting crimes have been reported in the four years since it became illegal in 2019, according to a Freedom of Information Request.
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Some 1,150 upskirting crimes have been reported in the four years since it became illegal in 2019, according to a Freedom of Information Request (file image) Credit: Getty
Victims were as young as three-years-old, Sky News revealed.
Of 43 police forces in England and Wales contacted, 39 responded.
Just 68 people have been convicted of upskirting since 2019, according to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) figures.
And it's not the only sexual offence with low conviction rates.
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Just 3.5 per cent of sexual offences in England and Wales resulted in a charge in 2022/23 - and the figure's as low as 2.1 per cent for rape.
It comes after a 15-year-old girl was left devastated when a boy in her class filmed up her skirt.
She became suspicious when he put his phone on his bag with the camera facing up, threw his coat on the ground and asked her to pick it up.
Her mum reported the incident to the school, which confiscated his phone.
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Images showing beneath her skirt were found and deleted - but the boy was not suspended.
Two years later, the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is furious the photos were never shown to the police.
She took things into her own hands and the boy was arrested and given a caution.
Upskirting has been illegal since the Voyeurism (Offences) (No.2) Bill received Royal Assent in 2019.
It means perpetrators face up to two years in prison.
Gina Martin kick started the campaign to make upskirting an offence after a man stuck his hands between her legs and took a photo at a festival in 2017.
A government spokesperson said: "We created a specific offence to tackle upskirting because it is an abhorrent and degrading crime which no one, especially children, should have to experience.
"We are supporting women and girls to feel safer everywhere and that’s why we are encouraged that 60 per cent of offenders convicted of voyeurism in the past year received either a suspended sentence or immediate custody.
"We are also investing record funding into policing and up to ￡7.4 million in projects to tackle the root causes of violence against women and girls."
Another victim told Sky News she blamed herself after she was upskirted.
She added: "I felt really embarrassed that someone had done that, because I'd dressed up to go out with my friends.
"I know you're not supposed to blame yourself but you do think: 'Maybe I wore a dress which was too short'."
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She reported the incident to the police but was told there was nothing they could do.
Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, added: "It's an issue we should never minimise because it gives men and boys permission to act like this with impunity."
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Gina Martin kick started the campaign to make upskirting an offence after a man stuck his hands between her legs and took a photo at a festival in 2017 Credit: Rex Features