The Director of the Social Services and Family Services Department, Feona Charles-Richards, is re-iterating a stark warning to parents about the evolving tactics that predators use to groom children for exploitation both offline and in digital spaces.
“Many of our children are going home to empty houses because parents are still working, sometimes multiple jobs, just to provide basic needs,” Charles-Richards said during a recent interview on Observer AM. This changing family dynamic, she noted, has created new vulnerabilities that predators actively target.
The Director cautioned that parents should remain vigilant and be attentive to different warning signs, beginning with behavioral changes.
“The first red flag is when your child says, ‘I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to be around this person.
“Even for younger children who aren’t communicating yet, crying when taken to what should be ‘that fun place’ signals something concerning is happening.”
Other warning signs include unexplained high-end gifts and sudden personality shifts which may occur when a child who was once talkative about their day suddenly becomes quiet and withdrawn. This, Charles-Richards explains, could mean that they’re being isolated to switch their trust from you to somebody else.
The digital landscape has dramatically expanded opportunities for predators, with Charles-Richards noting a “significant increase” in online grooming over the past eight years.
“Persons create fake profiles claiming they’re 16 or 14, interacting through private messaging on different apps — TikTok, Instagram, Facebook — pretending to be someone they’re not,” she warned.
These online relationships often begin with digital gifts, with Charles-Richards explaining that “gifts can range from five US dollars to a thousand US dollars,” creating a sense of obligation before the predator escalates to “asking for nudes or requesting meetups”.
“It’s super important to provide the supporting mechanism to ensure your child is actually safe online. If you need to create a profile to follow your children online, then do that,” she advised.
Charles-Richards also warned about new features in messaging apps that might conceal concerning communications.
“If there’s a locked chat in WhatsApp, that’s a red flag. It’s important to scroll past archives and see if your child has a locked chat.”
Rather than occasional check-ins, Charles-Richards emphasized building consistent communication habits. “Those car rides home are valuable. Creating routines and opportunities for conversations is important because if we don’t build that relationship with our children, we lose them to society.”
For parents who discover suspicious online interactions, she recommended immediate action: “Call the police and hand the devices over to CID so they can track and trace those IP addresses.”
The Director urged parents to be mindful that protection requires creating safe spaces for children to speak openly.
“Your child isn’t going to be perfect. They’ll make mistakes, but it’s important to let them know this is a safe space. Have honest conversations, not to scare them, but to keep them safe.”
