Yorkshire schoolboy who tried to take his own life after being tricked into sex act on Skype speaks out

West Yorkshire Police and the NSPCC are encouraging parents to spend five minutes talking to their children about online safety.

A Yorkshire father is encouraging parents to talk more with their children about online safety after his son attempted suicide in the wake of online abuse.

Carl and his son Ben, whose names have been changed to protect their anonymity, are sharing their story as part of the NSPCC and West Yorkshire Police’s campaign on Tuesday for Safer Internet Day.

Ben was tricked on Facebook into thinking he was speaking to a female friend of a friend. After three weeks of chatting, this person revealed himself to be a man.

Using threats and blackmail, Ben was coerced into sending sexual images and performing sex acts on Skype.

The images and videos were shared with five other men who bombarded Ben with further demands.

Ben felt trapped and was too frightened to tell anyone what was going on. After two years of meeting the demands of his abusers, he attempted to take his own life.

He said: “One day I came home from football training and went straight to my room.

“I decided to take some tablets to try and end my life so I didn’t have to deal with what was happening.

“Maybe it was a cry for help. I just told my mum that I wasn’t enjoying school. I still didn’t tell anyone what was happening.”

A week after the suicide attempt, Carl was called into Ben’s school after a fellow pupil had complained about some photos Ben had on his laptop.

“The police took his laptop away to look at it,” he said.

“A few days later, Ben and I were called to the police station... They asked me if I knew what was going on, and I was really confused. That’s when it all came out and our lives changed forever.”