DENVER - With their explosive sound systems and killer graphics, they are the video games kids are dying to play.
But XBOX live, Play Station 3 and even Wii have become a sexual predator's playground.
That's because the games are interactive, kids are matched up with players all across the country, they can talk to each other, do battle in cyberspace and make friends.
The problem; often times the players are adult posing as kids, luring children through headsets and instant messages.
"It was very scary" says Erica McWhorter. She was playing XBOX when someone with the screen name, Romantic Devil started asking her personal questions through instant messages.
"He said, are you girl? How old are you? Do you have a web cam?" Then McWhorter says he asked her "if I wanted to see his private parts."
McWhorter reported the unwanted encounter to XBOX, and Romantic Devil was blocked from contacting her.
But it made McWhorter realize just how dangerous XBOX could be for a child.
Video game Pedophiles have been arrested all across the country for everything from using XBOX to send nude pictures to arranging to have sex with a minor. The FBI says it's one of the fastest growing crimes.
"Sex offenders will go anywhere kids go," says Jefferson County investigator Mike Harris. He says children are contacted by sex offenders through on line video games more often than parent's realized.
"Children don't always tell their parents because their afraid they will take the game away instead of trying to solve the problem."
The makers of XBOX says parents can take control of the game by setting up what kind of games their children can play or by restricting access to XBOX live.
But police say it is important parent's contact local law enforcement if their child is contacted by someone suspicious.
That's because there are ways to track down criminals through cyberspace.
But XBOX live, Play Station 3 and even Wii have become a sexual predator's playground.
That's because the games are interactive, kids are matched up with players all across the country, they can talk to each other, do battle in cyberspace and make friends.
The problem; often times the players are adult posing as kids, luring children through headsets and instant messages.
"It was very scary" says Erica McWhorter. She was playing XBOX when someone with the screen name, Romantic Devil started asking her personal questions through instant messages.
"He said, are you girl? How old are you? Do you have a web cam?" Then McWhorter says he asked her "if I wanted to see his private parts."
McWhorter reported the unwanted encounter to XBOX, and Romantic Devil was blocked from contacting her.
But it made McWhorter realize just how dangerous XBOX could be for a child.
Video game Pedophiles have been arrested all across the country for everything from using XBOX to send nude pictures to arranging to have sex with a minor. The FBI says it's one of the fastest growing crimes.
"Sex offenders will go anywhere kids go," says Jefferson County investigator Mike Harris. He says children are contacted by sex offenders through on line video games more often than parent's realized.
"Children don't always tell their parents because their afraid they will take the game away instead of trying to solve the problem."
The makers of XBOX says parents can take control of the game by setting up what kind of games their children can play or by restricting access to XBOX live.
But police say it is important parent's contact local law enforcement if their child is contacted by someone suspicious.
That's because there are ways to track down criminals through cyberspace.
