‘Pedophile hellscape’: Child sex offenders’ computer games ban

Sex offenders on the Child Protection Register will be prohibited from playing online games during their reporting period, or face five years in jail.

The changes come as part of an overhaul to laws that force certain offenders to report their movements to authorities in order to keep kids safe. Pictures: Supplied

Convicted pedophiles will be banned from playing popular kids games like Roblox and Minecraft, but parents will need to wait a year for the extra protections to come into force.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that sex offenders on the Child Protection Register will, from next year, be prohibited from playing online games during their reporting period, if the service allows communicating with a child.

Those in breach could face up to five years imprisonment.

The changes come as part of an overhaul to laws that force certain offenders to report their movements to authorities in order to keep kids safe.

Under the changes, mandatory reporting obligations will be applied to a greater range of serious offences against children.

Screenshots from the Roblox platform, where players chat with each other. Picture: Supplied

However, the new laws will not come into effect until next year – something an online safety expert said is unacceptable.

The ban follows international investigations showing how easy it is for predators to target children on games designed for kids.

One game targeted at children – Roblox – was this week branded a “pedophile hellscape” by investment research firm Hindenburg.

Hindenburg accused Roblox of allowing pedophiles to “efficiently target hundreds of children, with no upfront screening to prevent (sex offenders) from joining the platform”.

“Our in-game research revealed an X-rated pedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech,” the firm said.

Roblox allows users to create and publish their own ‘games’ together.

Users can also chat to each other using the platform, which features Lego-style character avatars.

Minecraft uses Lego-style avatars. Picture: Supplied.

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Online safety expert Susan McLean warned that there is “no such thing as safety on the internet,” because predators try to use online games to target kids.

Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the recent overhaul “massively strengthens” the current Child Protection Register which keeps track of convicted offenders.

The NSW Government only moved to ban child sex offenders from kids games after an amendment moved in parliament by Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“We have made online spaces safer for children and sent a clear message — there’s no room for offenders to hide,” Mr Buckingham said.

“Parents can now have greater peace of mind knowing that we’re taking strong action to protect their kids from predators lurking in online gaming platforms.”

Ms Catley thanked Mr Buckingham for strengthening protections for kids online.

“It is a sad reality that some predators engage with children online,” she said.

People on the register will, under the new laws, be required to report all contact with children to police within 24 hours. Previously, they only needed to report any changes in children residing in the same house.

“Under the changes, it will soon be easier for police to detect if an offender breaches their reporting requirements and officers will have increased powers to take appropriate action,” Ms Catley said.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

The reforms have been applauded by child protection advocates, including Bravehearts Founder Hetty Johnston.

“Anything we can do to limit the opportunities of sexual predators is welcome,” she said.

Ms Johnston said the biggest issue will be “policing and monitoring” people on the register, and called for “very heavy penalties” to act as a deterrent.

Online safety expert Susan McLean said banning child sex offenders from online games is “absolutely excellent,” but said the law will only be effective if it is enforced.

She said it was unacceptable that the ban will take 12 months to implement.

“It needs to be fast tracked, and it should be able to be sorted out in far less than 12 months,” she said.

Originally published as ‘Pedophile hellscape’: Child sex offenders’ computer games ban