Lucie's story: '˜I couldn't get away from terrifying Jason'

Children can be left terrified when online ‘friends’ turn out to be something else entirely in real life.

Facebook, Instagram and other social media were used in nearly 1,500 cases of child grooming last year, new figures obtained by the NSPCC reveal.

Click here to read more about the latest Sussex grooming numbers.

Lucie (not her real name) is from Sussex, and has bravely come forward to tell her story:

“I don’t really feel as though I had much of a childhood. My mum and dad were abusive towards each other and they split up when I was very young.

“Things were very unsettled and I had to grow up fast.

“I’ve had access to the internet for as long as I can remember. I spent a lot of time in front of the computer when I was younger because I was quite distant from my parents.

“When I was ten, I found a website where I could chat to people who were alternative like me. They were all much older. I started talking to a guy called Jason (name changed) and he told me that he was 21.

“I spoke to him for a few years and I saw him as friend. He was a mysterious older figure and it was really enticing because I didn’t really have many friends and I wasn’t close to my family.

“Our conversations soon went from chatting about music to talking about sex.

“We started texting and Jason asked for topless photos of me. I remember thinking at the time that it might be wrong but we’d been friends for a long time so I thought it would be fine.

“No one had ever spoken to me about abuse before.

“When I was 12, I met Jason in real life. I remember feeling excited but I was quite scared too. The first time we met I took a friend with me.

“Jason turned out to be an absolutely terrifying man who was much older than 21. He was nothing like I’d ever imagined him to be. My friend was really scared so she went home.