WARNING: This post discusses child sex abuse.
An extremely heavy short film about the dangers of online grooming is once again going viral.
‘Kayleigh’s Love Story‘, created by Leicestershire Police and based on true events, tells the devastating story of Kayleigh Haywood, a 15-year-old girl who was raped and murdered after being groomed online by a man she’d never met, Luke Harlow.
“Over the course of 13 days they exchanged 2643 messages,” the press release said. “Harlow told the 15-year-old all the things many teenage girls want to hear. He told her she was beautiful, how much he cared for her and that she was special.”
She finally agreed to meet up with him on the night of Friday 13 November 2015.
When the short film premiered online in January this year, it was viewed more than a million times within 24 hours. It’s now been viewed more that 2.6 million times.
It was created as part of the CEASE campaign (commitment to eradicate abuse and sexual exploitation) to tackle child sex exploitation in the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland areas of England, but its warnings play true worldwide.
Watch it below, but please be aware that it’s confronting, and if shown in a cinema, would carry the equivalent of an MA 15+ rating.
Photo: Leicestershire Police.
If you think you or someone you know is being groomed online, or if you’d like to find out more about internet safety, head over to the AFP or ThinkUKnow.
