The mother of a teenage boy, who attempted suicide after being deceived into engaging in sexual acts online, has cautioned about the “devastating” effects of social media grooming.
Ben, a pseudonym, was 14 when he communicated with someone he believed to be a female of comparable age.
After several weeks of correspondence, he realised he was communicating with a man who then employed threats and extortion to compel him to provide pornographic photographs and engage in live sexual acts on Skype.
The material was disseminated to five additional males who subsequently inundated Ben with fresh requests.
Ben, a resident of Yorkshire, adhered for two years before experiencing panic attacks and attempting suicide.
His mother said she knew nothing of the abuse until police turned up at her door after arresting the perpetrator.
“I’ve never asked Ben about exactly what happened because he doesn’t want to talk about it”, she said.
“But I do know he got to know things about his family, where they work and then when Ben said he’d had enough, that he wasn’t interested, the blackmail started. The demands just got bigger…he said he’d kill Ben’s family if he didn’t do as he was told.”
The abuser was later given a nine-year extended prison sentence.
‘He’s scared to go out’
But the woman says he left a lifelong impact on her family.
“We used to do a lot of things together. That stopped,” she said. “Ben doesn’t really go out socialising. He’s just very wary of people around him.
“So it has put a big impact on his social side of life because he doesn’t do it. And that’s very sad that a young boy is scared to go out and socialise with his friends.
“I wouldn’t want this to happen to anybody else. What we as a family have gone through is devastating.”
Her warning comes after the NSPCC revealed the number of online grooming crimes recorded by police across Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire has increased by 61% since 2017.
More than 3,000 offences have been recorded in that time.
The charity said Snapchat was the most common platform used by perpetrators to target children online last year, with the messaging app cited in almost half of grooming cases across the UK.
WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram were also used.
NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless said: “One year since the Online Safety Act became law and we are still waiting for tech companies to make their platforms safe for children.
“We need ambitious regulation by Ofcom who must significantly strengthen their current approach to make companies address how their products are being exploited by offenders.
“It is clear that much of this abuse is taking place in private messaging which is why we also need the UK Government to strengthen the Online Safety Act to give Ofcom more legal certainty to tackle child sexual abuse on the likes of Snapchat and WhatsApp.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.