Investigation reveals number of paedos using online game and others like it to groom kids has quadrupled
MORE and more children are falling prey to paedophiles through computer games, a Sunday People investigation has found.
The unsuspecting youngsters play unseen opponents at home – not knowing they are up against a growing army of perverts on the hunt for new victims.
The number of crime reports involving online games has nearly quadrupled in just five years. Many involve scores of sex offences against children, ranging from child pornography to sexual activity with children and even rape.
Popular games including Minecraft, Clash of Clans, World of Warcraft and Roblox – each with millions of users – have all been used by sex offenders to target children.
The NSPCC says the findings of our investigation are so “deeply concerning” there must be greater regulation of the industry.
We asked police forces in England and Wales to provide details of all reports of crimes involving online computer games in the past five years.
And information provided by 30 of the 43 forces shows that police logged 68 crimes last year – up from just 18 in 2012 – with most involving sex offenders.
The disturbing findings will stun parents of youngsters they believe are safe as they play video games at home in their bedrooms.
Explicit
Suffolk Police revealed they had investigated a case of a 10-year-old girl being groomed via the online games IMVU and MovieStarPlanet. And in Durham a suspected paedophile was investigated over sexual activity with a child under 13 after first making contact with the victim on Avakin Life – a 3D game for fashion lovers. Meanwhile, Hertfordshire Police told of several cases in which children were asked to send explicit photos of themselves to adults they met while playing online games. In one case, a gir girl under 16 was persuaded to send na naked photos to a suspect she met on M Minecraft. In another, a boy under 16 was playing Fresh Hotel when he was aske asked for obscene snaps. The force saidsa other computer games used by online predators include Marvel: C Contest of Champions and SmallWorlds SmallWorlds. In Cambridgeshire,Cambridgesh police quizzed a suspect over sexua sexual activity involving children under 16 after the game Party In My Dorm was used to se send explicit messages. A And in Devon and Co Cornwall, paedophiles us used the popular g games Club Penguin, W World of Warcraft