‘Talk to your children about grooming’

Lorin LaFave’s 14-year-old son Breck Bednar was groomed online by teenager Lewis Daynes, who later murdered Breck in February 2014.

The pair met online while gaming. Daynes, then 18, told Breck elaborate lies before inviting the teenager to his house to meet in person. Daynes was jailed for life for fatally stabbing the teenage boy and ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years. Lorin now campaigns to raise awareness of online danger through the Breck Foundation.

She says, “Now, more than ever, parents need to be aware of who their children are speaking to online. While most of us are spending more time online with the current situation, so too are online predators. They try to build relationships with our children through having fun and laughs as well as enjoying shared interests to lull them into thinking they are ‘real’ friends.

“Some predators may try to get children to send photos or information, or try to get them to do things, possibly sexual, that they would not normally do.

The lessons we teach at the Breck Foundation are more important than ever, with statistics showing online grooming and exploitation on the rise. Children must be educated and empowered to speak out about what they hear and see online with their friends. They can then keep safer online together. Talk to your children about grooming and how to recognise the signs, follow the Breck Principles and use Breck’s real-life story to help your children understand that dangerous people exist. If I can save just one life and stop just one mother from feeling the same agony I went through, then it’s worth it.”

For information, visit Breckfoundation.org