A WARNING has been issued to Farnham parents after someone posing as a child requested indecent images of children through online game ‘Fortnite’.
In a letter sent out by Weydon School, it states that there has been a “significant online safeguarding issue in the local area”.
Although the incident occurred through ‘Fortnite’, it is believed that “continued contact” was made through Xbox Live. The perpetrator managed to enter groups of children using the Xbox ‘Friends List’.
As well as requesting indecent images, the perpetrator also “befriended” some children on social media site Instagram.
According to the letter, the person went by the names and gamertags of:
* “Arthur”
* “Arty R”
* Xbox tag: lino2009
* Instagram tags: _zillion._ or _arthur2009.
Within the letter, the school states that parents should use the incident as reason to “check in on your child’s contacts making sure that your child is only friends online with people that they actually know in person”.
The letter continues: “This is something that our children are likely to be faced with in this digital era.
“It remains a high priority across our curriculum and will be an ongoing focus in school.”
An investigation is reportedly underway, however an update is yet to be received from Surrey Police.
The warning comes at the same time as a new film, titled ‘Breck’s Last Game’, was launched to warn Surrey teenagers of the dangers of online grooming.
It tells the true story of the murder of 14-year-old Breck Bednar in 2014, after he met up with 18-year-old Lewis Daynes. Breck had met Lewis through online gaming.
‘Breck’s Last Game’ will be shown in classrooms along with planned lessons surrounding the topic.
*The Herald printed the letter in full online on Thursday afternoon, but has removed this as a gesture of goodwill at the request of Weydon School.