Video Games and Online Chats Are ‘hunting Grounds’ for Sexual Predators

By Nellie Bowles and Michael H. Keller
New York Times
December 7, 2019

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/07/us/video-games-child-sex-abuse.html?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_NN_p_20191209§ion=topNews?campaign_id=9&instance_id=14393&segment_id=19430&user_id=da83167374ac1d85438aa0e49dc46430®i_id=98983641tion=topNews&mtrref=www.bishop-accountability.org&gwh=207DE5F79DB1346A125F50D5C529809C&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL

Criminals are making virtual connections with children through gaming and social media platforms. One popular site warns visitors, “Please be careful.”

When Kate’s 13-year-old son took up Minecraft and Fortnite, she did not worry.

The video games were hardly Grand Theft Auto — banned in their home because it was too violent — and he played in a room where she could keep an eye on him.

But about six weeks later, Kate saw something appalling pop up on the screen: a video of bestiality involving a young boy. Horrified, she scrolled through her son’s account on Discord, a platform where gamers can chat while playing. The conversations were filled with graphic language and imagery of sexual acts posted by others, she said.