The horrors of youngsters caught out by internet paedophiles have once again hit the headlines after a Lisbon schoolgirl was knifed in the face and neck after being ‘groomed’ by a 20-year-old that she met online.
The 14-year-old had no idea that the ‘boy’ she had been talking to on Facebook – who told her his name was Luís Costa – was really a 20-year-old sexual predator.
Weeks of chatty conversations over the net had revealed much of the youngster’s lifestyle and day-to-day movements and so, one morning on her way to school in the area of Encarnação, Olivais, ‘Luís’ surprised her, pressing a knife to her neck and saying “Either you have sex with me, or I will kill you”.
According to Correio da Manhã newspaper, the brave girl actually said: “So kill me” – and a struggle ensued in which the youngster was slashed about the neck and face.
Her injuries were not severe, said the paper, and the plucky girl managed to shake her attacker off and run for refuge into her nearby school.
She is reported to have been worried about making a complaint as she didn’t want her father discovering that she had been having conversations with her attacker. Luckily, friends persuaded her to go to the police and a formal complaint was filed at the end of the day.
For now, CM reports, the 20-year-old sex-attacker remains at large. Police have explained that without being caught in the act, it is difficult to make an arrest. They are investigating ‘Luís Costa’s’ Facebook identity (which is said to have a number of underage girlfriends) and honing in on whether or not the man is grooming other young people.
Meantime, the 14-year-old was treated for her injuries at D. Estefânia children’s hospital, where she also received psychological support.
Coincidentally, Correio da Manhã reports that a total of 507 GNR officers will be visiting 283 schools this week to “inform youngsters on how to avoid risky behaviour on the internet”.
