N.S. mom alarmed after teen targeted by predators on school-issued laptop
CBC
A Nova Scotia mother says her 14-year-old daughter was targeted by online predators through a school-issued laptop and is warning other parents to be vigilant.
The woman noticed the problem in October, when she said she found questionable emails and chats on the Chromebook computer.
“Things that were very sexual in nature, self-harm related; some conversations with individuals who were not within the school system that were happening over her school-issued email address,” said the woman, whom CBC News is not naming to protect her daughter's identity.
Timestamps on the device showed that these messages were accessed both at home and at school.
The mother took the computer to the RCMP, and the Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) is now investigating.
She said she became concerned after noticing some cuts on her daughter's arms.
“[I] had no idea that there was somebody kind of grooming and convincing her to do these things.”
Halifax Regional Police recently issued a warning to parents about an online group targeting youths called 764, which is a subgroup of the larger Com Network. The group uses the chat feature of platforms like Discord, Minecraft, Roblox, Telegram, Twitch and Steam to connect with vulnerable young people in order to exploit and manipulate them.
The woman said she pulled her daughter out of school and has been home-schooling her ever since. She said her daughter is doing well, with help from therapy.
The woman said she is concerned about whether her daughter sent any images of herself to anyone.
“We've had those conversations, was there anything sent? I'm told no, but again these groups have an extreme ability to brainwash and coerce and convince these kids to do things that they may not do or could even be embarrassed about falling for and doing.
"So I hope not, is all I can say.”
Schools across Nova Scotia provide students with Chromebook laptops. Rules vary on where and when the devices can be used. In some regions, students are free to take their computers home. Other locations restrict their use to school-use only.
All regional centres for education in the province told CBC News they have “robust” safeguards on their student-issued laptops. But they cautioned that when a computer is taken home, it’s reliant on whatever safeguards are built into the home Wi-Fi.
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