Sex predators move onto games consolesParents unaware of new threatBy Stewart Meagher: Friday, 04 July 2008, 12:02 PMClick here to find out more!IN-GAME COMMS have brought a whole new layer of fun to many multi-player console games, but parents may be unaware that sexual predators, who have more commonly used traditional Internet chat sites to groom their victims, are moving onto games consoles."Child predators are migrating from traditional methods to alternate media," Detective Thomas Kish of the Michigan State Police told ABC News. "They are going to places where children are."Last year in Michigan, Adam Glenn Schroeder was charged with using World of Warcraft to lure a 12-year-old girl into having sex with him. He got 10 years.And in Utah, another adult gamer-player lured a 12-year-old boy into having sex, according field commander of the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Lt. Jessica Farnsworth. She warns that perverts make contact with kids, "groom them and then try to move off the game."Many multi player games on consoles like the Xbox and PS3 allow users to disguise their voices when talking to fellow gamers. And cops are going online to catch the groomers who "get a foot in the door" by befriending vulnerable children during gameplay.Most consoles also include sophisticated email and Web browsing facilities which parents may not be aware of, apparently.
