Online sex exploitation of 11-year-old Hong Kong girl sparks police warning to parents to monitor children’s internet use
- Youngster exploited by man after she met him on internet gaming site WePlay
- Police investigation launched after the man took photographs of the undressed child without her knowledge
The force on Wednesday posted an alert on the CyberDefender Facebook page that said the Primary Six pupil was taken advantage of after she met a stranger on the online board game platform WePlay.
The two later continued to communicate on instant messaging app WhatsApp.
“The man then coerced the girl into disrobing during video chats,” police said.
A source added the man took pictures of the child without her knowledge during the video chats.
“He later threatened to post her nude photos on the internet unless she sent him more nude photos,” he said.
The force said similar chat traps are used on a variety of online social networks.
“They are common tactics used by criminals to sexually exploit children and both boys and girls can become victims,” police warned.
Police have started an investigation into the incident.
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Police said parents should be aware of their children’s online activity and know who they are in conversations with to prevent them being targeted by predators.
The force’s CyberDefender’s website added online sexual exploitation can degenerate further into real-life abuse.
“Sex offenders will use different excuses to meet children and commit sexual assaults,” the force said.
“Some offenders will even take videos as tools for intimidation during the process to establish a longer sexual relationship with the children and cause far-reaching and indelible harm to the victim.”
The city last year recorded a sharp rise in the number of children who were the victims of sex assaults after they met strangers online.
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The youngest victim logged was just nine years old.
Police handled 696 cases of sex abuse involving children in 2023, up from 578 the year before.
A total of 45 were linked to the child’s online activities, up from 39 in 2022. Most of the victims were aged between 12 and 16.
There were 21 cases that involved sex with a minor aged under 16, 13 cases of indecent assault, five cases of rape, four reports of indecent conduct towards minors and two cases of sex assaults on boys under 16 or without consent.
