INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image caption
This child sex doll was removed by Amazon but was back on the website days later
England's
Children's Commissioner says Amazon should ensure "disgusting" child sex dolls are not restored for sale on its website, after a BBC
investigation found them for sale on its platform.About a dozen child sex dolls were found for sale on Amazon Marketplace
After the BBC contacted Amazon about one doll it was removed, but three days later it was back on the website.Amazon said it had now
removed all the specific products which the BBC drew to its attention.In a statement Amazon said: "All Marketplace sellers must follow our
selling guidelines and those who don't will be subject to action including potential removal of their account
The products in question are no longer available."Image copyrightEleanor BentallImage caption
Anne Longfield, Children's
Commissioner for England, said the dolls were a 'clear danger'
Responding to the BBC investigation, Anne Longfield, England
Children's Commissioner, said: "These dolls are disgusting and are clearly meant to look like children
"Not only do I, as Children's Commissioner, but the wider public also, have a right to expect a huge company like Amazon, to not only
remove these products from their platform, but to explain why they are on there in the first place and ensure they can't just be reloaded
"Such dolls are clearly built for one purpose and that purpose is a clear danger to the safety of real children," she added
Legal loopholeThe UK Border Force has seized 179 child-like sex dolls since March 2016 as part of Operation Shiraz, a special operation set
up in conjunction with the National Crime Agency.In July 2017, a judge ruled child sex dolls were obscene items and therefore covered by the
1979 Customs and Excise Management Act.However, it is not a criminal offence to manufacture or possess a child sex doll: individuals can
only be charged for importing them.Amazon Marketplace is an area of the retailing website where third party businesses can sell products
Amazon does not sell the products itself but instead receives money from the sellers.Dolls found on the website were typically three or four
feet tall with waist sizes around 16 inches (41cm).In the accompanying pictures they were placed in sexual poses with descriptions such as
"Mannequin Sexy" and "100% mimics girl's body"
Several dolls were described as coming with "sexy lingerie".A couple from Durham were horrified to find that a child sex doll came up in the
results for their online search for sex toys
"We felt disgusted and we straight away reported it to Amazon," they told the BBC
Twenty four hours later the couple had received no response from the retailer.NSPCC warningThe NSPCC has warned use of the dolls can lead
people to harm children.Designed to be as lifelike as possible, they are made of a silicone type material and weigh as much as a child
The dolls are made in such a way as to enable sex acts to be performed on them.The head of policy at the children's charity NSPCC, Almudena
Lara, highlighted the danger child sex dolls can pose to children
She told the BBC: "We already know that there is a risk that people using these dolls could become desensitised and their behaviour could
become normalised to them, so that they go on to harm children, as is often the case with those who view indecent images of children online
"There is absolutely no evidence that using the dolls stops potential abusers from abusing children
"Until gaps in the law are addressed to make it illegal to make, sell or distribute them, retailers like Amazon should refuse to sell these
