https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/29/estimated-20000-british-men-interested-in-sexually-abusing-children-police-chief-says?CMP=twt_gu&__twitter_impression=true

"“I believe there are tens of thousands of men that are now going into chatrooms and forums with a view to grooming children,” he added. “Technology has afforded an access to children that people who have a sexual interest in children never had before.”

Bailey said police did not have enough officers to successfully pursue all child sex abusers and even thousands more detectives would not bring every offender to justice, even though the law was sufficiently robust to allow for prosecutions in most cases. “There are hundreds of officers tackling this now,” he said. “Thousands and thousands still would not be enough.

“This is one of those wicked problems we simply cannot arrest our way out of.”

The police chief said the children being targeted were not just those from homes where the parents or the adults in charge were neglectful. “The victims have included children of very capable and very caring parents. It does not recognise social status. The victims include children of middle-class, educated parents who think they are internet-savvy,” he said.

Cases of UK child sexual abuse up 31%: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/18/cases-of-child-sexual-abuse-up-31-says-nspcc

"The number of reported cases of child sexual abuse in the UK rose by almost a third last year, according to NSPCC figures that the charity described as “deeply worrying” but said showed a greater public willingness to report the problem.

The charity said it referred an average of 90 calls a week to police and social services over concerns that a young person had been sexually assaulted. This was an increase of 31% on the year before.

The NSPCC said it made a total of 4,677 referrals UK-wide last year, up from 3,578 in 2015-16. NSPCC Scotland reported the biggest year-on-year increase in referrals from 78 to 265 cases last year."