‘They have one thing on their mind, and that’s children’: Paedophiles are using dating apps to target single mothers – as top cop urges women to not share pictures of their kids or even reveal they have them
- Detective Jon Rouse warns mothers not to post photos of kids on dating apps
- Single parents are warned not to reveal they have kids until they meet in person
- Queensland man was arrested after he abused a child of a woman he met online
Paedophiles are using dating apps to target single mothers, police have warned.
Jon Rouse, a Detective Inspector who runs the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has issued a stern warning to mothers not to share any photos of their children online.
Mr Rouse said single parents shouldn’t reveal they even have kids until meeting the person in real life, amid fears paedophiles will prey on their ‘vulnerable’ children.
Single parents have been warned not to share photos of their children online amid fears paedophiles will target them (file image)
‘Child sex offenders are using dating apps… and targeting single and lonely women with children,’ Mr Rouse told The Courier Mail.
He said children who have a single parent are more at risk of being targeted by predators.
‘They have one thing on their mind, and that’s children,’ he said.
‘The predators will always look for vulnerable children, and in many cases, single parent children are more vulnerable.’
The warning comes in the wake of a Queensland man who police recently arrested after he abused the child of a woman he had been dating.
He was busted after police found videos of the abuse after he shared it online.
Julie Inman Grant, an eSafety Commissioner said predators using dating apps was ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’.
She said parents should avoid posting any photos with children onto their online profiles and be ‘cautious’ if the person they are speaking with seems overly interested in their kids.
Several popular dating apps ban photos of unaccompanied children, including Bumble and Tinder.
Another online dating platform, RSVP ban images of children altogether.
Single mothers are warned not to even mention they have children until they meet the person they are speaking to online in real life (file image)