CUMBRIA County Council has joined the NSPCC in calling on the Government to take action to address a “loophole” in the law, which according to the charity could be preventing the police from tackling sexual abuse.

Figures obtained by the children’s charity show that four complaints have been made in Cumbria since 2014 about an adult engaging in sexual activity with a 16 or 17-year-old in their care. There were 160 similar complaints across the north of England.

However, as the law currently stands police have no legal powers to investigate these complaints, due to the limits of ‘position of trust’ laws.

Currently, it is illegal for a teacher, a care worker or a youth justice worker to enter into an intimate relationship with a teenager under the age of 18 in their care, as it is viewed by the law as an abuse of a ‘position of trust.’

But the NSPCC’s Close the Loophole campaign points out that these laws do not extend to those in voluntary roles such as sports coaches or in faith groups.

It is understood that the Ministry of Justice has committed to considering proposals to extend the definition of a ‘position of trust’ to include sports coaches. However, it is not at present considering extending the law to all adults in similar roles.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “We remain absolutely committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse.

“We recognise that abusing a position of trust is particularly horrific.”

Amy McQueen, the NSPCC’s acting team manager in Carlisle, says the Government needs to act to ensure all teenagers are protected by such laws.

“It’s a shocking situation and one that people are often surprised to hear about,” she said.

“At the NSPCC, we believe that all 16 and 17 year olds being supervised by an adult should be protected by this law, whether it’s in a church group or a sports club, and not just in educational and care settings. We are asking people to support this campaign by signing up on the NSPCC’s website.”

A spokesperson for the county council, whose staff are already covered by the ‘position of trust’ laws, said: “The safety and security of young people is a key priority for the council, and we support the NSPCC campaign calling for current laws to be extended.”