A father from Middlesbrough has warned parents to keep a closer eye on their children after discovering his six-year-old son was inundated with comments of a sexual nature while playing on computer console, Xbox Live.The father of one found his son, who suffers from Aspergers syndrome, in a distressed state having been playing with the popular console in his room for less than half an hour.
The shocked father has said: “I knew something was wrong because my son came out of his room when he heard me coming up and told me not to go in, not to go on the game.”
The young boy’s dad believes, that based on the content of the ‘vile’ messages, the predator was under the assumption he was talking to a little girl through the game.
The father of one, who lives alone with his son, blames himself saying: “He shouldn’t have been on it by himself, and I hold my hands up that I made mistakes, but I didn’t think you could use that for chat.”
According to his dad, the young boy, who on account of his condition “thinks everyone’s his friend”, is said to be “really upset at the moment because his ‘friend’ might go to jail’”.
Police are currently investigating the issue and a Microsoft spokesman has urged parents to be more vigilant, saying: “We provide parents with tools in the family setting on Xbox to protect their children, and urge them to review these settings on their children’s consoles.”
