A ten-year-old girl was groomed by perverts through her iPad - despite her parents taking 'all sensible safety measures' to protect her.
The girl was given the tablet to help with her schoolwork. But just a month later her mother checked the device and was 'terrified' to discover that she had been targeted by at least 16 men.
They used popular applications such as Skype and Snapchat to send the girl explicit messages and encourage her to expose herself on camera.
The perverts, who are understood to be based in the UK and overseas, were able to contact the girl, who lives near Middlesbrough, even though her parents had taken child safety precautions.
Police have now launched an international investigation to find the men. Detectives from Cleveland Police are liaising with Snapchat and Skype bosses in the hope of tracking them down, according to the Sun.
It comes just weeks after David Cameron unveiled new plans to tackle web pornography, calling for internet firms to do more to help catch paedophiles.
The schoolgirl was first contacted by a man on Snapchat, who won her trust before leading the conversation on to sex. Her parents believe that he must have passed her details on to others.
Her father, 37, said that his daughter told many of the men that she was ten years old, but that it only encouraged them to ask for explicit images.
He told the Sun: 'In one case they begged her to undress. When she refused he said "Your parents won't come into your room in the time it will take to get out of your pyjamas".'
He father added that the most frightening exchange he read was one in which a man offered to transfer his daughter money so that she might travel to meet up with him.
On another occasion one man begged: 'Open cam baby open' and added: 'plzzzzzz I like sex. What problem r u no interest to sex.
The father, 37, said that he and his wife knew she was using the applications - which are popular with teenagers - and had taken 'all the sensible child safety measures that all good parents do'.
Her mother, 32, said it was 'terrifying' that the men could reach children in their own home and said she 'thanked God' that she checked her iPad.
She said: ' I'm asking every parent in Britain to do the same. My little girl was groomed into doing things we thought were unthinkable. If it can happen to us it can happen to anyone.'
In one case they begged her to undress. When she refused he said "Your parents won't come into your room in the time it will take to get out of your pyjamas
Father of the ten-year-old victim
At a summit with internet firms and experts earlier this month, Mr Cameron announced a new criminal offence of sexual communication with a child is to be created, closing a staggering loophole in the law.
Paedophiles who currently solicit explicit pictures of children routinely escape punishment if it can't be proved they have received an illegal image.
But the new law will allow police and prosecutors to pursue those who send text messages or 'fish' for victims online, irrespective of the outcome of their behaviour.
Mr Cameron announced that a Serious Crime Bill currently going through Parliament will introduce a broad new offence, punishable by two years in jail.
It will allow police and prosecutors to pursue those who 'fish' for child victims on social networks and chat rooms but cannot usually be punished unless they can be shown to have received an illegal image.
Mr Cameron said he and his wife Samantha had applied filters to computers and other devices in their home to keep the internet safe for their children.
The schoolgirl was first contacted by a man on Snapchat, who won her trust before leading the conversation on to sex. Her parents believe that he must have passed her details on to others (picture posed by model)
The PM urged parents and children to talk to each other about the dangers of online child sexual exploitation but added: 'That's difficult for parents - we're still learning a lot about the internet ourselves.'
The NSPCC's research shows that there has been a 168 per cent increase in the number of children being counselled by ChildLine about online sexual abuse – averaging seven contacts a day to its helpline.
Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, hailed the announcement as 'a victory for our Flaw in the Law campaign but more importantly a major step forward in preventing online child abuse'.
Visit the sites below to keep your kids safe online
No comments:
Post a Comment