How to read this story
Lifestyle
Film & Culture Report
Culture & Society
Culture, storytelling, creative economy and audience impact
Social Media Frenzy: Paedophile caught In action as mother reveals what she did on Snapchat
In the view of so many, “social media have made the world a global place.
” But as it is as the quickest access to connecting to every angle of the world, it has been a tool evil-minded people have wielded to perpetrate and perpetuate their misconduct under the guise of anonymity.
In the larger part of the world, social media have destroyed more lives than built it. It has also become a hub in which fraudsters and terrorists catalyse their dubious and destructive operations.
Social Media Frenzy
Nicki, Sarah’s eight-year-old daughter appeared playing an online game when messages started flowing-in from a user who disguised as a teenager.
Nicki Speaks on her experience before, during the paedophile’s encounter.
It happened on a fateful day that Nicki was playing MovieStarPlanet when she started to notice messages coming-in from someone who falsely claimed to be a 17-year-old boy.
In an interview with Sky News hostess Sarah-Jane Mee on the UK Tonight programme, eight-year-old Nicki said: “It was just someone starting off a normal conversation saying ‘hi, how are you?’.
“And then it just started getting weirder… he was saying that I looked really sexy sometimes. And as I was an eight-year-old, I didn’t really recognise that word… so then I went straight to my mum because it didn’t look normal to me.”
The user of the fake account on Snapchat messaging her, who eventually turned out to be an adult within the age of 30 and 40, had also requested that Nicki talk with him on the social media app, despite that the reality that was clear enough that her profile on MovieStarPlanet openly stated that she was eight.
Social Media Frenzy
Remembering the time her daughter (Nicki) revealed the messages to her, Sarah, Nicki’s mother said: “I won’t lie, initially I genuinely did think it was just a 17-year-old boy, you know, just sort of pushing his luck, if you will.
“We deleted the account [on the game]. We made her a brand new account… and then 12 hours later, ping! He found her again.”
The mother later decided to sign-up a new account on Snapchat in her daughter’s name, then added the person who had been messaging her daughter via MovieStarPlanet, and she decided not to add any of her daughter’s pictures to the newly created account.
Howbeit, Sarah furthered: “He understood who it was straight away and the conversation continued… so then, if you will, I became Nicki for about five days.”
Sarah revealed that a “major red flag” existed when the user started to send pictures and videos.
“I was well aware that that was no 16 to 17-year-old boy. This was prior to us seeing a full facial image. Luckily enough, he sent that as well, which made it a lot easier to identify this as a fully-grown man.”
The mother went further: “Knowing what he wanted from her, what he wanted to do to her.
He was very explicit in telling me what he wanted her to do… it encouraged me to continue knowing that I can’t let him do this to her or any other child, that I have to ensure that I stop him.”
Social Media Frenzy
The paedophile, whose identity was shielded by the media house, ended up being sentenced to eight-month imprisonment following his conviction in August 2023─just three years after the social media incident took place.
Nicki revealed that she began to cry when told that the paedophile had been sentenced to eight-month imprisonment.
She added: “It was kind of relief and obviously joy… it was just amazing,” she added.
Nicki also revealed that she, most times, eavesdrops pupils at school discussing how they are chatting to social media users whom they actually do not know.
She said: “You just kind of think, well, is that not a bit of a stupid idea? Because obviously you’ve never met him…
“If a friend came up to me, then I’d actually have the conversation with them. You know, [tell them] that could be someone completely different to who they say they are.”
The Community Standards of Snapchat and MovieStarPlanet
In the statement released by the spokesperson for Snapchat: “Any sexual exploitation of young people is abhorrent and illegal.
“We designed Snapchat with extra protections for teens – including private friend lists, pop-up warnings if they start to chat with someone we think they don’t know and easy reporting tools so teens can get help quickly.
“You must be at least 13 to use Snapchat and we also have Family Centre for parents, which allows them to see who their teen is talking with and when they last chatted.”
Social Media Frenzy
And on the other hand, a spokesperson for MovieStarPlanet also said that: “First, and foremost, our thoughts go out to the family involved in these incidents and we wish them well in their recovery process.
“As a registered social worker, professionally working to safeguard children, my main focus is to make sure there are comprehensive safeguarding systems in place to protect children and adolescents who engage with the online games that we produce.
“This is also the main focus of everyone at MovieStarPlanet where we work with a safety by design philosophy when creating and producing our online games.
“MovieStarPlanet is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable online experience for everyone that engages with the online games that we produce.
“We have implemented a comprehensive set of child safeguarding measures designed to protect our users from potential risks and promote civility through positive interactions.
We continually assess and upgrade these systems when it is deemed necessary.”
Social Media Frenzy
