Dad’s horror after discovering teenage son had been sexually abused by online groomers
A FATHER has recalled the harrowing moment he discovered his son was being sexually abused by a gang of predators he met online.
Harrowing moment dad of groomed boy speaks out
In an distressing interview, the anonymous father said he thought his 13-year-old was “just talking with friends” on his laptop.
By the time he realised the truth, his teenage boy had already been sexually abused.
“If you don’t believe it can happen to you…well it just might,” the father told BBC Radio 5live.
The dad being interviewed by Samantha Fenwick on 5live
If you don’t believe it can happen to you… well it just might
“In some cases [my son] would be in the same room as us on his laptop.
“As far as we were concerned he was just talking with his friends."
According to figures from children’s charity Barnardo’s, 297 of the 702 kids they had supported in the last six months had been groomed online.
Of those 297, 61 per cent had been subject to physical sexual abuse and nearly 50 per cent were exploited by more than one person.
The father is now warning other parents to 'accept grooming can happen'
This father is now warning other parents to “accept grooming can happen” in order to prevent it.
“The groomers had persuaded him that they were his friends, they were his boyfriends,” he continued.
“They drive that wedge between the young victim and his family.
“By the time we discovered he’d been sexually abused, it had already happened, and the problem for the parent, and the others who are trying to help him, is you’re not in prevention anymore, you’re trying to limit the damage."