How can we protect our kids from online predators?

How can we protect our kids from online predators? As statistics show grooming cases have doubled, Lorin Lafave tells how her son, Breck, 14, was murdered by a monster he met online

e all know there’s W a dark side to the internet, but with more than half of under 10s regularly using social networks and online grooming increasing by almost 50 per cent, it’s never been more terrifying.

Disturbingly, 43 per cent of children have messaged strangers online by the age of 12 and six per cent have also met up in person with someone they met on the web.

Sickeningly, research has also shown perverts are infiltrating children’s lives by hacking into webcams to spy on them.

One of the most high-profile examples of online grooming is sex offender Peter Chapman, who used a fake Facebook profile to lure 17-year-old student Ashleigh Hall to her death in 2009.

UNDER SURVEILLANCE

An NSPCC spokesperson says: “We are hearing from more young children worried about grooming. Children are increasingly using tablets and mobile phones and that makes it difficult for parents to monitor online activity. Webcam hacking is another worrying issue we’re aware of. They shouldn’t be left active on devices that are in a child’s bedroom and children shouldn’t open emails or accept requests from people they don’t know who may be trying to hack their webcam.”

One woman who knows only too well the dangers of the internet is Lorin Lafave, 48.

Two years ago, in February 2014, her 14-year-old son Breck Bednar was viciously stabbed to death by 18-year-old loner Lewis Daynes after the pair struck up an online “friendship.”

After grooming Breck for months on social media site Teamspeak, Daynes – who had previously been accused of raping a boy and possessing indecent images in 2011 but charges were eventually dropped – lured the teen to his flat in Grays, Essex, before killing him in a horrifying sexuallymotivated attack.

Daynes has since been sentenced to life with a minimum of 25 years for murder, while Breck’s devastated mother Lorin is campaigning for more internet safety awareness.

Lorin, who lives in Caterham, Surrey, with triplets Carly, Chloe and Sebastian, now 14, says: “Knowing Breck’s death could have been prevented is heart-breaking. Anyone can pretend to be something they’re not online. I alerted the police to Breck’s online friendship with Daynes, but nothing was done.

“Since Breck’s death I’ve set up the Breck Foundation to educate people about the dangers online and refer them to support groups. I’d hate any other parent to suffer the pain of losing a child to online grooming.

“Now, I do talks in schools and children thank me because they speak to strangers and don’t realise what they’ve done is unsafe. We teach them to use social media but to keep their virtual friends separate from their real life.”

A WEB OF LIES

Breck started using social media sites aged 13. Lorin – who separated from Breck’s dad in 2006 – says: “He was a caring and polite boy and always interested in computers. At 13, he used gaming chatrooms to stay in touch with old friends. He’d have his bedroom door open when he was on the computer and I knew who he was speaking to.”

In 2013, at 14, Breck began talking to Daynes, who spun a web of deceit, telling Breck he was a computer engineer and could get him a job at his multimillion-pound company. In reality, he was 18, unemployed and lived alone.

Lorin says: “Breck became brainwashed by Daynes. He told us he didn’t have to finish school because he could get him a job. I felt