Kayleigh film is released
A CHILLING film about a Leicestershire schoolgirl who was groomed online before being raped and murdered has been published online.
The video, called Kayleigh’s Love Story, shows how 15-year-old Measham girl Kayleigh Haywood was bombarded with messages from a stranger over a period of two weeks.
Kayleigh was eventually persuaded to spend the night at Luke Harlow’s house in Ibstock before his neighbour, Stephen Beadman, dragged the teenager into a nearby woodland, where he raped and murdered her.
The five-minute film was made by Leicestershire Police to warn of the dangers of grooming and sexual exploitation.
It was shown to 35,764 secondary school children across the county at 1,000 controlled screenings by a team of Police Community Support Officers last year.
The screenings gave 35 children the courage to come forward and report possible cases of grooming to officers, Leicestershire Police said.
The force has now released the full video online in the hope that it will encourage more victims to seek help and support.
The multiple award-winning film begins with Kayleigh receiving a flood of affectionate text messages on October 31, 2015, from Harlow that continue for two weeks.
It shows how Kayleigh was lured into Harlow’s home before Beadman, 29, sexually assaulted the girl and dumped her body in a woods.
On April 5 2016, Harlow, 28, pleaded guilty to grooming and two counts of sexual activity.
He was found guilty of false imprisonment following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court on June 28, where he also admitting grooming two separate girls. Harlow was jailed for 12 years.
On April 5, Beadman, 29, pleaded guilty to rape and murder.
On June 7, he was also found guilty of false imprisonment and was given a life sentence in which he will serve a minimum of 35 years.
Leicestershire’s deputy chief constable Roger Bannister said: “What happened to Kayleigh was horrific but we are pleased that some good is coming from the awful tragedy and that this film is raising far greater awareness of the dangers of online grooming and the signs that it may be happening. They are signs that we can all look out for and do something about - before it is too late.
“We felt it was critical that we showed the film to local schoolchildren first, in structured screenings where our staff could discuss with children the issues raised by the film, before we made it more widely available.
“That said, we did release the film to all other police forces in the UK in the summer in order that they could also arrange specific screenings with partners and children before the general release date next week.”
The film was made with the support of Kayleigh’s parents, Stephanie and Martin.
A signed version, an audio described version and versions of the film translated into five languages – Polish, Hindi, Guajarati, Urdu and Punjabi – will also available on the force’s YouTube page.
The video is the centrepiece of the force’s on-going CEASE campaign which aims to eradicate the sexual abuse of children across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.