Minecraft and other online games are a lot of fun, but not everyone out there is just in it for the game. This story from Seattle reminds us that we need to be careful about who we Minecraft with. Some people out there are a little more Herobrine than Steve.
According to the article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 34-year-old Andrew Hartung has been charged with the sexual exploitation of one boy.
Detectives there began investigating Hartung after another boy’s father told authorities his son had been receiving flirtatious text messages from a man he met while playing the “League of Legends” and “Minecraft” games online. That boy and the 12-year-old both knew Hartung through the video games.
Arapahoe County detectives learned Hartung had been sending the 12-year-old boy expensive gifts. The 12-year-old apparently told his guardian they were coming from a 15-year-old boy with a rich father.
According to charging papers, Hartung convinced the 12-year-old to expose himself on camera. The boy tearfully said Hartung had been his “best friend,” until he found out what he was actually like.
So, common sense. Anyone who’s sending you big gifts and sweet talking you through a game, any game, probably isn’t doing it just to be nice. Anyone who asks you to do things like expose yourself IS NOT your friend. Have fun, but be careful out there.
[Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
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