Cyber Warnings for Parents: Sexual Predators Are Targeting Kids Through Online Video Games

Sexual Child Exploitation Sexual predators using Online Games Online Video Games Minecraft Roblox Discord Sexual Predators Parental Controls San Diego County california

By Jo Anne Hubert , Parent Herald Nov 13, 03:41 am

Photo: (Photo : Pexel/Andrea Piacquadio)

Sexual predators are changing their game and are now in lurking in a new playground — chatting with kids as they play popular online video games, and asking for photos in exchange of video game credits.

A trend involving Minecraft and Roblox in most sexual child exploitation cases currently has been noticed in San Diego County, California.

Sgt. Garrick Nugent, San Diego Police Department Detective and also Task Force Commander with Internet Crimes Against Children, a group of detectives investigating offenders who use the Internet and other online communication systems to exploit children sexually, stated that sexual predators are pretending to be kids and will go play these online games. Using the chat components of the games, they will befriend the children and build relationships with them.

Getting more and more creative, and desperate

In the "grooming process," and once friendship is built, these predators, who Nugent described as "master manipulators," will urge the kids to use other chatting applications like Discord, an app that can be accessed on any device and usually used by San Diego classrooms for online learning. Thus, children, and even parents, have the idea that this is a "trusted platform" and is a safe place for kids.

"They begin talking in a sexually suggestive manner. Typically, as soon as they get the child to send at least one image that may be illicit, they got their hooks in," declared Detective Nugent.

These predators then pressure and tempt the children to send photos in exchange for video game credits most of the time, CBS8 reported.

Detective Tami Mason, an undercover who poses as a child online to catch these predators, shared that if the latter are finding it hard to communicate with the children, they will go farther by buying phones for these kids with fully paid plans, and requesting that they hide these phones from their parents.

She said that most relationships built "go beyond casual chatting" as these people are getting more and more creative with their ways of victimizing children.

'Enact parental controls'

It was reported that San Diego County has an alarming 300 percent increase in child exploitation cases since 2019, and not that it is increasing, but exploitation is happening "all the time," according to Patch.

According to Detective Mason, they were getting hit left and right when COVID-19 happened.

Parents must have open and safe discussions about the dangers online, Detective Nugent suggested, since there are a lot of kids, especially those that are part of the LGBTQ community, are "embarrassed or ashamed" for what they have experienced with these predators, what they have done and how they have responded.

Detective Mason, on the other hand, is asking parents to set phone rules in the house. Ask the children not to have their phones with them in the bedroom or bathroom, but only in the living room, where what they are doing can be visible to their parents or caregivers. As much as possible, disable the chat functions of the video games and apps they are using, and explain to them why. It is important that parents create firm controls and make sure that internet capabilities are turned off at night.