Mum of Ashleigh Hall makes plea to Facebook

Mar 11 2010 The Journal

THE mother of a murdered Darlington teenager has called on Facebook to install a paedophile “panic button” on its site.

The social networking site has come under fire for not doing enough to protect children from online predators after the conviction of Peter Chapman, 33, for the kidnap, rape and murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall.

The convicted sex offender used a false identity to befriend and entrap the schoolgirl online.

Unlike other sites such as Bebo and MSN, Facebook has resisted pressure to install a help button for children that warns the authorities if they are at risk.

The button provides a direct link to experts at the national Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

Ashleigh’s mother Andrea Hall said: “Anything that can be done should be done to stop these monsters. No stone should be left unturned. I just can’t see any reason why Facebook haven’t installed this panic button.

“It acts as a deterrent because predators feel other users are watching them. It also gives those people who feel threatened, particularly young children, an easy way of reporting it.”

Chapman was jailed in 1996 for raping two prostitutes at knifepoint and served five years before being released and placed on the sex offenders register.

He was later arrested for another rape in Cheshire but charges were dropped. Despite his risk level being downgraded, Merseyside Police should have been in regular contact with him.

He was last seen in person by police at his home on August 29, 2008.