N.S. mom alarmed after teen targeted by predators on school-issued laptop

How a schooltime Chromebook became a gateway to development

A Nova Scotia overprotect says her 14-year-old girl was targeted by online predators through a school-issued laptop and is warning other parents to be vigilant.

The woman noticed the problem in October, when she said she found questionable emails and chats on the Chromebook computer.

Timestamps on the device showed that these messages were accessed both at home and at school.

The mother took the computer to the RCMP, and the Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) is now investigating.

She said she became concerned after noticing some cuts on her daughter's arms.

“[I] had no idea that there was somebody kind of grooming and convincing her to do these things.”

Halifax Regional Police recently issued a warning to parents about an online group targeting youths called 764, which is a subgroup of the larger Com Network. The group uses the chat feature of platforms like Discord, Minecraft, Roblox, Telegram, Twitch and Steam to connect with vulnerable young people in order to exploit and manipulate them.

The woman said she pulled her daughter out of school and has been home-schooling her ever since. She said her daughter is doing well, with help from therapy.

The woman said she is concerned about whether her daughter sent any images of herself to anyone. 

“We've had those conversations, was there anything sent? I'm told no, but again these groups have an extreme ability to brainwash and coerce and convince these kids to do things that they may not do or could even be embarrassed about falling for and doing.

"So I hope not, is all I can say.”

Schools across Nova Scotia provide students with Chromebook laptops. Rules vary on where and when the devices can be used. In some regions, students are free to take their computers home. Other locations restrict their use to school-use only.

However, the mother in this case said timestamps on her daughter’s Chromebook showed she was accessing the problematic websites during school hours.

In addition to handing over her daughter’s laptop to the RCMP, the woman also contacted the school and the centre for education.

“They acted genuinely shocked,” she said. “They acknowledged that my daughter was kind of in a more vulnerable group, that she would be more susceptible to something like this. They advised that they had no idea that these things were happening within the school.”

The school subsequently issued a warning email to parents.

“It has been brought to our attention that students have found a work-around on the school Chromebooks and are able to access sites such as Instagram and Roblox,” the email reads in part.

“We are investigating to figure out how this is happening as Roblox has been identified as a site of concern where strangers may chat with kids.”

Roblox is an online gaming platform with a chat feature. It was through those chats that the girl was exposed to the online predators.

Last week, Roblox announced new safeguards on its site as the company continues to face criticism and lawsuits over child safety, and a growing number of countries and jurisdictions are implementing age verification laws.

The mother says her daughter is more vulnerable because she has severe ADHD. Prior to this incident, the mother says she had carefully policed her daughter’s access to the online world, including putting restrictions on her cellphone.

“There were times when I felt like I had over-parented her, where she was missing out on certain social interactions with her friends because they all had social media and they were all able to relate in that way, which is so common these days,” she said.

“And looking back I'm glad that I did. But at the same time it still feels like I missed something.”

In a statement, the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development said it was aware of this incident and has contacted the RCMP.

“The safety of students is a constant priority, and we are committed to working with families and other partners to protect children and youth from online harms,” the statement reads.

“Many schools proactively send information to families about safe use of school-issued technology while at home, including supervision needs and links to additional resources.” 

The RCMP have obtained warrants to extract data from the girl’s Chromebook. Their extraction may reveal the identities of “Gracie” and “Cole,” the names of two predators who targeted her.

South Shore Regional Centre for Education

Tri-County Regional Centre for Education

Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education

Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education

Chignecto Central Regional Centre of Education

Strait Regional Centre for Education

Halifax Regional Centre for Education

The following resources are available for more information and support:

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