Pokemon sparks paedophile fears

A mother, whose two daughters were approached by a stranger while they were playing Pokemon Go, says the game is an ‘‘ideal opportunity for paedophiles’’.

The woman, who cannot be named in order to protect her children’s identities, said her daughters, aged 9 and 13, were at the Kaiapoi library in North Canterbury last week when they were approached by a man.

‘‘My youngest daughter had her sister’s phone in her hand and she had the Pokemon game up on her phone. He must have noticed and went over and said: do you like Pokemon? I like Pokemon and I know where the special rare Pokemon is, do you want to come with me and I will show you where it is?’’

The oldest girl told the man no and he left. The girls were able to pick him out on surveillance footage. Police confirmed they were working to identify the man.

The mother said the incident made her ‘‘sick to my stomach’’.

‘‘Some little kid is going to get taken, it’s just an absolute ideal opportunity for paedophiles.’’

She hoped the incident would serve as a timely reminder for parents about the dangers of the game.

‘‘You don’t really think it will happen to your own children. It’s going to attract predators for sure.

‘‘I’m surprised something much worse hasn’t happened before now.’’

The girls would still be allowed to play the game but only with their parents around.

The Waimakariri District Council’s community and recreation manager, Craig Sargison, said the incident was treated ‘‘very seriously’’.

‘‘Clearly we want people to be in a safe environment.

‘‘The library has been open for a year and a half now and this is the first incident we’ve had.

‘‘We do have a high degree of internal camera surveillance and any incidents that we do become aware of we report them to police.’’