An 'absolutely disgusted' mum has slammed Amazon after her nine-year-old son discovered an X-rated image of a couple appearing to engage in a sex act being used to flog an iPad cover.
Kendel Gilbert's son Myles had just celebrated his birthday last Thursday when he checked over his Amazon wish list and clicked on the listing for a kickstand protective cover for his device.
But the schoolboy was confronted with a 'shocking' image on one iPad ad showing a male model with his hands down the unfastened pants of a topless female, who appears to be moaning with pleasure.
Shocked Myles brought the image straight to his 38-year-old mum to show her how 'inappropriate' it was, and swimming teacher Kendel has since urged Amazon to vet the products on their site.
Amazon confirmed it had apologised to the family and said they had 'take action' against the seller.
Kendel, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, said: "(I was) absolutely disgusted that this (was) the images my nine-year-old came across when looking for a new iPad case.
"(Myles) brought it to me and said 'mam, this is so inappropriate'.
"He's really good and knew straight away it was inappropriate. I was a bit shocked to see that.
"This guy has got his hands down the woman's pants. Her pants are clearly unfastened.
"I was a bit like 'okay...'. I've bought it, which has taken it off the website, but now it shows on my orders with that image on.
"It's a minefield trying to keep kids safe on the internet. Amazon is like a modern-day Argos catalogue.
"They're allowed to look on Amazon when they've got their birthday money. They have a wish list.
"It's an everyday product. It's not as if he'd searched for anything other than 'iPad case'."
After an initial shock, Kendel immediately contacted Amazon to let them know about the racy image, as a blue version of the case was advertised with a clothed model.
Kendel said: "Why not a bunch of flowers? There's another one in an opposite colour with just a picture of the lady. She was in clothes in that one.
"I would have thought Amazon vetted their listings. This was a [third-party] seller but Fulfilled by Amazon. You'd think they would be vetting what's put on to their website.
"You don't want to be teaching your children that 'sex sells'.
"I did contact Amazon via the chat and said 'do you realise this is on their website?' They said they'd pass it on to the appropriate team. Maybe they'll consider more appropriate advertising in the future.
"(The listing has) been taken down as it was the last one in stock. It's possible they'll restock it."
Amazon confirmed it had apologised to the family, removed the inappropriate images and 'taken action' against the seller of the iPad cover.
While they couldn't confirm what action was taken in individual cases, they claimed this can include warning the seller or suspending their selling privileges.
An Amazon spokesperson said: "We work hard to build a great experience for our customers and sellers and take action to protect them from those that threaten their experience in our store.
"We have systems and processes to detect suspicious behaviour and we have teams that investigate and take action quickly."
