Gamer and Yogscast collaborator Craig Stewart has been jailed for grooming girls online.
Craig Stewart, also known as Cregstep, pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting girls aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity. He used an anonymous online chat site to film the girls, secretly recording conversations and saving them on his computer.
He has also pleaded guilty to creating and being in possession of indecent photographs of children and possession of extreme pornographic images.
Stewart has been a Yogscast Reddit moderator for Martyn Littlewood, and has also collaborated with Yogscast on YouTube. Martyn tweeted his shock at the news:
Quite a few of me are tweeting/dming/skyping me about the Cregstep situation and yes, I'm aware of it. I'm as shocked as you all are :(
— Martyn Littlewood (@InTheLittleWood) August 9, 2016
He also addressed the news on 9 August as part of a live stream with fans:
Thanks for the chilled stream everybody, No Man's Sky is an interesting beast! Also sorry about getting so teary at the beginning <3
— Martyn Littlewood (@InTheLittleWood) August 9, 2016
Stewart has been given multiple sentences for the charges of up to two-and-a-half years, which he is to serve concurrently. He has also been handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years.
Detective Constable Lloyd Metselaar said during a report that “Stewart had manipulated his webcam to hide his identity and incite a large number of children to commit sexual acts on camera”, saying that he “would urge parents to take an active interest in what their children are doing online, introduce parental controls, block problematic websites, and talk to children about the dangers of speaking to strangers online.”
Cambridgeshire police are encouraging parents and guardians to take an active interest in their child’s online activity. “The fact is children have no idea who they are talking to,” Metselaar adds, “and are often vulnerable to the sexual intentions of the other party.”
If you are worried about any of the issues covered in this article you can talk to a trusted adult or to Childline. If you think that you or a friend may be in a similar situation then you can also talk to the police.
Childline
Childline is a 24/7 service for children and young people to talk about their worries. You can call Childline on 0800 1111 or talk online at childline.org.uk. Calls and messages are free and confidential.
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