The mother of murdered 14-year-old Breck Bednar, whose killer groomed him through an online gaming community, will appear in a film to be shown in secondary schools to highlight the dangers of online grooming.
Breck was stabbed to death by computer engineer Lewis Daynes in his flat in Grays, Essex, in February 2014, in what a judge described as a “sexual and sadistic” killing. Daynes had lured Breck from Caterham, Surrey, to meet him.
Daynes, aged 18 at the time of the offence, admitted to the murder at Chelmsford Crown Court in 2015 and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.
Breck’s mother, Lorin LaFave, will appear in a film called Breck’s Last Game, which is a collaboration between four police forces: Essex, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Surrey.
The film, which features the 999 call made to police by Daynes, captures the events leading to Breck’s death; police said it would carry a 15 certificate if shown in a cinema.
It will be shown at schools in the counties of the four police forces, as part of planned lessons over the coming months.
Police said the full film would not be released publicly until spring 2019, to allow it to be used first in lessons.
Ms LaFave said: “Breck’s story shows how easily grooming can happen. He met the predator through an online friendship group and would have been flattered to have an intelligent, older mentor helping him expand his gaming skills.
“At the time, I believed the offender was older than he was because he was so controlling and manipulative, even with me, so it’s important for young people to realise not only can predators lie about their age, where they live or who they are online, they can also be a similar age to the victim.”
Ms LaFave founded the Breck Foundation, a charity set up in his memory to help young people stay safe online.
She said: “They are not always the stereotypical ‘creepy old guy’. It’s so important for us to raise awareness of the fact that boys can be groomed, too.
“Breck’s murder came after international media coverage surrounding the Rochdale and Rotherham cases, where the victims were all girls. His version wasn’t the ‘typical’ type of grooming people had heard about in the news.
“His story shows even regular school boys can make mistakes if they aren’t educated to recognise the signs of grooming and exploitation.”
She said: “If I had to give one message [to teachers], it would be to seek out the resources, videos and stories that are available, sit the children down in a different setting…and open up discussion in a really honest and engaged way.
“Let them talk. Let them talk about sex, about their fears, about what they’ve seen, what they’ve heard, without them being worried that they’ll get in trouble, because it needs to be as real as possible. It cannot feel like a normal school lesson.”
Want to keep reading for free?
Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.
