Parents warned about online grooming dangers after prolific Cheshire paedophile jailed
Police are urging parents to talk to their children about the risks posed by social media
Parents across Cheshire are being urged not to shy away from difficult conversations with their children about online grooming after the jailing of a "hugely" prolific Cheshire paedophile.
Police found evidence of 158 children in total who had been encouraged to send him explicit images and over 300 who had been contacted were described in court as "potential victims."
It's sparked fresh calls from police for parents to talk to their children about the dangers they can face online.
Harmes used apps like Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok to seek out his victims before encouraging them to download Google Hangouts where he recorded them performing sexual acts.
"You need to have those frank conversations at a young age"
Detective Sargent Mark Naylor from the investigation team at Cheshire Police told us:
"We live in a digital world and there is absolutely no getting away from that.
"This was one man on one computer for six months.
"It really speaks to how important it is for parents to supervise their children to know what's going on when a child has a mobile phone a tablet or a laptop
"If your child has a device, you need to have an understanding of what they're doing with that device.
"You need to have those frank conversations at a young age. If your child is seven and has got a device then I'm afraid you have to have that conversation with them about the dangers inherent in it.
"He was actively targeting victims who were making videos on their own devices and putting them up on YouTube or TikTok in order to exploit them."
84% rise in online grooming since 2017
Statistics gathered by the NSPCC show the number of online grooming cases has almost doubled in the past five years.
Almost 34,000 online grooming crimes against children have been recorded since 2017 years including 6,350 'Sexual Communication with a Child offences' being recorded between 2022 and 2023.
This is an 82% increase since 2017/18 when the offence first came into force.
More than 5,500 offences were against primary school children, with under-12s being affected by a quarter of cases, the data shows.
An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Harmes’ single-minded determination to sexually abuse children is deeply disturbing, as is the ease with which he was able to do so on these online platforms.
“This devastating case, once again highlights how important it is that the Online Safety Bill is signed into law as quickly as possible, so tech companies are compelled to make sure their platforms are safe spaces for children.”
Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or through the Childline website, where there are resources and advice on how to stay safe online.
Adults with concerns about a child can phone the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 8005000, email help@nspcc.org.uk or visit the NSPCC website.