Kids as young as 8 who game online targeted by perverts as sex offences triple

15 April 2023 , 15:39

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Paedos target children who play online games (Stock photo) (Image: Getty Images)

Perverts are preying on children via online games, sending vile ­messages to kids as young as eight.

The number of people convicted of sex offences after meeting children through games including Roblox, Minecraft and World of Warcraft has tripled in five years.

There were 219 convictions in 2021, up from 71 in 2018, figures from 21 police forces in England and Wales show.

Offences included grooming, sharing indecent images and videos, asking kids to perform sex acts, abduction and rape. One girl said she was raped by a boy she met on Minecraft, while another aged 11 was contacted by a man from Estonia asking for photos and to meet for sex.

The number of offences has tripled in five years (Stock photo) (Getty Images)

A boy aged eight playing Roblox was instructed to “touch his private parts”, a girl of 10 was sent indecent images from an online porn site and one child was so scared after being contacted via Minecraft and Fortnite he could not sleep.

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Roblox and Minecraft said they were invested in safety and their games used chat filters to block unwanted contact.

World of Warcraft said users breaching its social contract would be banned.

A Government spokesman said: “The safety of our children is paramount. The Online Safety Bill will offer a step-change in online child safety, and make the UK the safest place to be a child online.”

Phil Cardy